


My Queen of the Garden

by alicehowe11



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Mutual Pining, The Doctor's Daughter - Freeform, The Master Has Issues, dangerous love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-02-22 22:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 98,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23734477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alicehowe11/pseuds/alicehowe11
Summary: "This is where we've always been heading, you and I." The Doctor's daughter was always shunned on Gallifrey, with her father acting like she doesn't exist and her classmates avoiding her at all costs, her life is set on a trajectory to an inevitable convergence. The MasterXOC
Relationships: The Master (Doctor Who)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 33
Kudos: 24





	1. Part 1 - Chapter 1

The Master strode along the glass armoured corridor, heading out of the northern quarter towards the central hub of the academy. At this time in the afternoon, Mount Cadon was casting an ominous shadow over the walkway shrouding him in darkness.

He'd been fairly pleased with his meeting with Councillor Shay the hour prior, not the most powerful or intelligent man but certainly pliable. The Master continued along the walkway, his dark robe catching his long legs. He passed through two heavy black doors and turned right towards the Academy Research Platform planning on catching Lord Pirce before the day was out. As he was passing the Great Library the Master smiled to himself, the distinctive smell of dusty pages making him pause for a moment to take a look inside.

The library was the finest on Gallifrey and most likely the finest in all the universe. Dark wooden central columns rose up from a white marble floor, spiralling up to a glass open round ceiling. Books lined these columns, the shelves winding up almost as far as you could see. The room itself was also circular, with small archways leading to further rooms and study coves. Academy students, all adorned in their coloured robes sat about the large wooden tables dotted throughout the rooms, hunched over books and specimens.

A small noise to his left broke the Master's contemplation, he turned his head slightly to see the back of a young woman. She was standing on her tiptoes on a table that had been pushed up against one of the tall columns. Her arms were stretched out above her and she was balancing a very large and very heavy looking book between her hands and the slanted shelf. She seemed very aware of her precarious position and was trying, and seemingly failing to push the book back into its rightful place. She looked quickly to her right to see if any of her peers were watching her. The Master smiled slowly to himself as he recognised her instantly. Hally, Theta's youngest daughter. The Master watched her for a few moments, she was a fairly tall young woman with dark brown hair cascading down her back. The Master couldn't quite remember how old she'd be now, perhaps in the 200's? The way her robe was currently stretched across her silhouette showed the Master that she'd certainly grown since the last time he'd laid eyes on her. He smirked to himself, the girl was pretty, however useless she might currently be proving to be in her bookish predicament.

The Master watched as she looked back at the book, seemingly assured that none of her classmates were watching. The Master couldn't comprehend the wave of utter surprise as he witnessed what happened next. Hally was still balanced on her tiptoes, both hands on the book, she was frowning and slowly, concentrating very hard, she lowered herself onto her heels. The book stayed exactly where it was, despite the fact that the young Time Lady was no longer touching it. The Master watched intrigued as she bit her lip and lightly flicked her hand forwards. The book tilted upwards and slotted itself onto the shelf. Hally smiled to herself and hopped off the table, turning quickly expecting to exit the library swiftly, however, she stopped dead in her tracks when she locked eyes with the Master. He couldn't help the small smirk that pulled at his lips as he saw her go very pale, her eyes flickering towards the doors of the library.

"Lord Master." She licked her lips nervously.

The Master almost laughed at the feigned confidence in her voice, instead he smirked knowingly, "Lady Hally."

He delighted at the slight flush that crept up her neck as she forced herself to remain stoic.

"Can I help you?" She replied haughtily.

This time the Master did laugh, "Why my dear, I think you certainly can."

Her jaw clenched, "I'm not sure what you me-" The Master cut her off as he took two strides forward and closed the gap between them, he had swiftly grabbed her lower arm, holding it tightly.

"Now, now, I wouldn't start with a lie if I were you." He whispered roughly, a warning glint in his eye.

She was pulling slightly at his grip on her arm, the Master tightened his hold painfully. For a moment she was still and he felt triumph surge inside him. The girl was easily frightened, she could certainly be used and bent to his will and what a use it could be. He wondered how far the girl's telekinetic powers could reach, he would be sure to test her once she'd submitted.

The Master stepped forward, intent on dragging the girl out of the library when something very hard smacked him in the back of the head. The Master let out a sharp cry of pain and felt her slip her arm out of his grasp. He touched his hand to the back of his head and winced slightly as he felt an angry welt forming. Getting over the initial shock he rounded on who he assumed to be the culprit behind him, frowning at the empty space. A large book lay open on the floor to his left.

"You… little-" He turned back to grab the girl again anger igniting his blood, the never-ending rhythm in his head roared loudly.

Hally was already half-way through the door of the library, she stopped only to look back at the Master. The girl had the nerve to smile innocently back at him.

"My apologies, Lord Master…" She paused, her smile widening mischievously. "You should probably pick that up." She motioned to the open book lying at his feet before quickly slipping through the door, closing it behind her.

The Master's blood was boiling with rage and his head was now throbbing painfully. How dare she, he was the Master. Despite his anger, the Master couldn't help but notice the excited hum that appeared in his lower abdomen at the girl's defiance.

She was feisty. She would be a challenge and he would relish in it.

The Master smirked to himself and the drums quietened to a steady throb as he calculated a plan.


	2. Part 1 - Chapter 2

Hally was feeling pretty pleased with herself that morning as she wandered past the dormitories towards the breakfast hall. She had successfully managed to complete the report on the behavioural studies of flutterwings the night before, she hadn't run into the Master for a whole three days since the library incident and she'd only just begun to formulate a plan for torturing Persca today.

There was a small skip in her step as she wandered down the hallway, she wouldn't ever admit to herself but the altercation with the Master had shaken her. She'd spent the entirety of the next day expecting to be arrested and taken before the High Council. Abnormalities and unexplained power were dangerous for a Time Lord and Hally had been very aware that there was something highly abnormal about her for a while now. She'd therefore been extremely relieved to not be arrested that day and whilst this had lifted her spirits slightly she'd still spent the majority of the past three days skulking around the corridors expecting the Master to appear around any corner.

However, he hadn't and Hally refused to let him ruin her good mood. In a way, it was sort of lucky that it hadn't been another Time Lord to have discovered her… issue. She'd only met the Master a handful of times, but she knew from past experience and the rumours that spread throughout the academy that the Master was known for his scheming and ambition for power. Hally doubted he'd pass up this information to the Council when he'd much rather try and reap the benefits for himself. It was that assumption that had lifted Hally's spirits that day, as well as the knowledge that she'd managed to fool him and knock him over the head with a particularly heavy book. The frightened doe eyes worked on everyone at least once, but she doubted he'd fall for that play again. Hence the skulking.

Hally made her way through the cold, bronze doors of the hall and helped herself to a small breakfast of brightly coloured fruits. She moved towards the far end of the room where she could see Persca sat in the middle of her group of friends. Hally nudged the lanky blonde boy who was sat to Persca's left in the ribs with her knee and slipped stealthily into the space he unwillingly made.

"Happy Birthday!" Hally grinned, wrapping her arms around Persca's shoulders tightly in what looked like a hug, but which was actually more of a disguised headlock.

Persca shot her a playful glare and shrugged her off with difficulty, "Why thank you. Truce day?" She raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly.

Hally laughed, "It's your birthday, how could I be anything but lovely to you?" She grinned mischievously. "Any presents I can 'borrow'?"

The blonde boy, Lenden, scoffed quietly, she turned around in her seat to offer him a steely glare. Persca's group of friends tended to ignore Hally's general presence, much like most of her classmates. In the beginning, they'd argued and insisted Persca stop associating herself with Hally, but after nearly 260 years they'd taken to simply pretending like Hally didn't exist.

Persca was strong-willed and always ended up the leader of a crowd, she had magnificent long golden hair and perfectly round green eyes. They'd met during the first month at the academy and her pretty face and perfect manners had made Hally instantly dislike her and during a particularly long cartography workshop, Hally had taken to secretly sabotaging her calculations to try and make a fool of her during class. Hally had been pleasantly surprised when instead of reacting as most children of high-born Time Lord families would, she'd retaliated by sneaking a bucket full of Frogile eggs into Hally's bed. After years of petty pranks, she'd somehow become a close friend.

"Is your mother and father coming to visit for the next visiting day?" Lenden spoke over Hally to Persca, continuing the conversation they'd been having before they'd been interrupted.

Persca nodded, smiling. "Mmhmm, yes, we're going to spend some time in the Citadel so we can see my brother's new workshop."

Lenden leant over the table slightly, propping himself up on his elbow. "Oh, that'll be lovely. I do love to get away from the academy when my parents come to visit. I'd hate to be hauled up here all alone." He drawled, flashing a smarmy smile at Hally.

She rolled her eyes, unimpressed. "You're so original." Hally finished picking at the last of her fruit and turned her back on him. "See you this afternoon?" She asked Persca, who was giving her an apologetic look, she nodded.

"Temporal mechanics, your favourite." She winked and laughed as Hally made a small sound of exasperation. Hally got up out of the seat and with a sickly-sweet smile, blew Lenden a kiss and exited the hall. As soon as she was through the double doors the smile fell from her face to be replaced by an irritated scowl.

Hally would never willingly let anyone know it, but she dreaded visiting days. She hated the fact that she couldn't help but feel sorry for herself every single time they came around. There weren't many visiting days at the academy, but during each one, her fellow classmates spent all day with their siblings being spoilt by their families. Time Lord families did love spoiling their children. Hally hadn't seen her father for 61 years at this point, he visited the academy almost every 6 months along with her mother to see her elder brother and sister, Irvin and Mejana. She tried to squash the rising anger as she walked out onto the walkway heading early to her first class. When she was younger Hally had tried so, so hard to connect with her parents as her siblings had done. Her mother had barely spoken 10 words to Hally her entire life and her father, The Doctor had always kept his distance. She'd spent years of her life trying to figure out what she'd done wrong, why they hated her so, but eventually, after finding no answers Hally had forgotten to care. The hurt was still there though and try as she might to ignore the sharp stabbing feeling in her upper chest, the build-up to visiting day was always the worst.

Hally shook her head clearing her thoughts. _I'm fine on my own._

Hally nodded her head slightly at Lord Trigorn as she entered the botany classroom. The room was large and open, round tables dotted across the steel floor with high silver stools beside them. The long side of the room was bathed in white light from the suns outside, cages and containers of different sizes lined the windows. Most contained extra-terrestrial flora, but some contained millions of tiny silvery particles, known as Flutterwings, they flew in tight formations around the edges of the delicate glass containers, creating the appearance of a larger form. She smiled and sat on one of the stools, watching the tiny shimmering insects flit around. Slowly the room began to fill up and she pulled her report out of her satchel as Lord Trigorn circled the classroom to collect them before beginning the class.

"Thank you all." He neatly piled the reports on his desk, returning to stand behind his desk.

"We will be continuing to discuss the behavioural and epidemiological patterns of Flutterwings today…" He began in a monotonous tone. Hally sighed softly wishing that he wasn't about to make an enjoyable topic hideously boring.

"It's important to note that whether a species of Flutterwing originates from Gallifrey or from a constellation of An Gàrradh is totally independent of-" Hally had switched off by this point, glancing instead back at the swirling mass of Flutterwings to her right, she wondered what it would feel like to stick her hand into the middle of the swarm, to see the tiny specs float and dance across her skin like a cloud. Hally gently began tapping her finger on the cool metal table in front, mimicking the beat of her hearts.

Later that day Hally was sat at a small wooden desk, scratching away at her notes as Lady Vek enthusiastically garbled on about anti-time. Her face was screwed up slightly as she tried her best to concentrate and keep up with the speedy explanations. Hally looked across at Persca and Lenden who seemed to be fully comprehending what she was saying, Persca wasn't even taking notes. She spotted Hally watching and gave her a small smirk, Hally pouted and turned back to face the front.

"With the use of this function we can construct two mathematical models, where the second is generated by applying 'beta' to proper elements of the first," Lady Vek pointed to the second part of a very long equation she'd scribbled on the wall. "Such that the two models are identical prior to the time t=0, where 't' is a time function created by a foliation of spacetime but differ after t=0." Hally rubbed her hand against her face, staring at the equation blankly. Of all the classes she was only miserably failing one. This one.

"These considerations show that since substantivalism allows the construction of holes, that the universe must, on that view, be indeterministic. Which, Earman argues, is a case against substantivalism, as the case between determinism or indeterminism should be a question of physics, not of our commitment to substantivalism." She continued confidently, nodding at the class in encouragement.

"Now, if you take the equation you can consolidate the factor 'f' and hence estimate the degree of anti-time." She grinned and clapped her hands. "Off you go!".

Hally blinked a few times and re-scribbled the equation down on her paper below, hoping that if she stared at it long enough it would start to make sense. Hally was averagely smart, she was good at history and practical subjects, spacial cartography she could manage but her brain just wouldn't let her understand spacial/temporal engineering and mechanics. Numbers were not her friends.

Eventually, Persca took pity on her and showed her the workings, at this point she knew not to even try and explain the logic. Hally smiled stupidly and gave her a pat on the head.

"You're welcome." Persca hissed, shaking her head at Hally. "I think you might need an actual tutor to teach you this stuff next year." She whispered, "It'll be a part of our Ex280 and you can't fail again…"

Hally frowned, "I'll be fine, I've got you." Persca scowled and shook her head.

"I can't teach you this stuff, it's advanced and you never really grasped the basics… you scraped through the last 15 terms because Chancellor Borusa seems to have a thing for you." Hally pulled a face in disgust.

"What the hell?!" Hally gawped. "Ew." Lady Vek and the boys sat in front turned to see what was going on.

"Shhh!" Persca, covered Hally's mouth with her hand, smiling at our teacher.

"…but you can't fail next year, they'll make you retake the last 50, or worse… do you really want that?" She raised her eyebrow as if talking to a child.

Hally made a face and shrugged her shoulders, "I'll sort it out." Persca huffed softly but turned her attention back to the front of the class as Vek began to take the class through the correct workings.

At the end of the class Hally grabbed her notes and started packing the mathematical instruments away, Persca practically jumped out of her seat and beelined for the doorway, waving a quick goodbye. As Hally went to follow, Lady Vek stepped in front of her a small smile on her lips.

"Uh… Hi?" Hally said after a few moments of silence.

"Yes dear, please if I could just have a moment?" She gestured back over to an empty desk, Hally awkwardly perched on the edge.

"We have some concerns…" She began, still smiling kindly. "We have agreed that in order to ensure that you excel in your studies as much as possible, it would be beneficial for you to undertake some extra tutelage in this subject."

Hally gritted her teeth. _Persca_.

"You really don't have to…" She started, hoping to weasel her way out of more torturous, mind-bending equations.

Vek smiled, "Oh no, unfortunately, our current academic tutors are all far too busy. However, luckily for you, we've managed to secure some valuable time with a master in this field." Vek nodded her head again encouragingly. That was getting irritating.

"You might have noticed him shadowing today's class?" She continued, gesturing towards the back of the room.

"Huh?" She turned, having not seen anyone else at the back of the room when they'd arrived. Her mouth dropped open slightly.

_Has he been there this whole time?_

Hally was trying to think of something smart to say but the words caught in her throat as The Master crossed his arms, leaning lazily back against the short bookshelf behind him. He raised his eyebrow expectantly but all she could manage was a frustrated groan.

His smirk grew into a predatory grin, "It'll be my pleasure."


	3. Part 1 - Chapter 3

A small strangled noise escaped Hally's throat.

"Well, that's excellent." Vek patted her shoulder and moved past her to shake The Master's hand. "Thank you, Lord Master, your aid is much appreciated." The Master flashed her a charming smile, catching her hand and kissing the back of it slowly.

Hally didn't realise that she'd been pulling a face of disgust until The Master straightened up and sent her a knowing smirk.

"Can I leave now?" She asked quickly, grabbing her bag, hoping to make a swift exit and catch up with Persca. Possibly to murder her…

Lady Vek cleared her throat, "Yes dear, Lord Master would you please escort Lady Hally back to the northern corridor. You could discuss your tutoring schedule along the way." Vek smiled with excitement and began to usher Hally out of the classroom. The Master followed close behind and as she exited and began to walk away he slowed his stride, following slightly behind.

It was unnerving, feeling him silently eyeing the back of her head. She tried to ignore the increasing feeling of paranoia as they walked quietly along the curve of the corridor, heading right to pass over one of the glass walkways leading to the northern quarter of the academy.

"How does next Tuesday work for your first session." His calm voice interrupted her train of thought, a lot closer than she'd expected.

"Thursday is better." She snapped back, trying to cover up how much his proximity was bothering her.

Hally heard him chuckle softly. "Tuesday it is." She rolled her eyes and rounded on him as they turned sharply left into a small empty corridor.

"What are you doing?" She hissed, he twisted his face into a look of surprise.

"I'm just doing as Vek asked?" He widened his eyes, feigning innocence. Hally scowled, narrowing her eyes at him. His angular face was pulled into a shocked expression, but she could see the faint pull of a smirk at his lips. His bright blue eyes sparkled with amusement as he waited for her next move. All Hally wanted to do was smack that self-assured smile from his face, but she knew that she'd only end up in deeper trouble. She remembered seeing the wild anger flare behind his eyes in the library and she wasn't sure how far she could push him before he lost his patience.

"Somehow I highly doubt you volunteered to waste your time trying to explain elementary temporal mechanics out of the goodness of your heart." She raised an eyebrow at him, schooling her features. "I know exactly what you're thinking and what you want, but whatever you think you saw in the library…" She trailed off, The Master was laughing now.

"What?!" She growled lowly, frustration causing heat to rise to her cheeks.

"I'm sorry to interrupt what I'm sure would have been an excellently devised threat," he chuckled to himself again, taking a step forwards, Hally stepped back instinctively "However, my dear…" he continued moving forward until she'd run out of space behind her, he stepped in close. Hally could feel his breath on her cheek, she stared back into his eyes in silent defiance, his voice was only just louder than a whisper "… you have no idea what I am capable of, one word from me and the Council would have you exiled in a heartbeat. I have you, I have your secret and so, I. Own. You, and don't get me started on what I could do to your little friends should you fight me or run to daddy." Hally bit her lip, her breath caught in her throat, The Master smirked and leant closer, hovering above her ear, whispering quietly, "There is no one to stop me little dove, I am your Master." Hally shivered and an unbearable silence fell over them both. Hally could hear her breath coming out in short uneven gasps, her heartbeats drumming loudly in her mind. Or was it his heartbeats? He was so close it was difficult to tell. Hally wanted to run and get herself as far away as possible from the man barricading her to the wall. She knew she should just agree, let him win this battle and then run away as fast as she could.

"Did that knock to the head make you lose your mind…" She mumbled breathlessly, her fighting instinct taking over. "No-one would believe a word you said." The Master's hand shot out from between them and gripped her jaw painfully.

"I see you inherited your self-preservation skills from your saintly father." He growled, squeezing so tightly Hally was sure he'd leave an ugly bruise.

She let out a pained laugh, "I wouldn't know." She tried to wriggle out of his grip, but he was much stronger than her and held her still.

"Wouldn't they believe me?" He growled, pressing his forehead to hers. "Your classmates ignore you, your teachers tolerate you. Even the sanctimonious Doctor is disgusted by you." The sound of her heartbeats in her head was louder now, she winced in pain. "You stick out like a sore thumb and yet nobody understands why. Don't think for one second that they wouldn't jump at the chance to be rid of you." Hally had stopped struggling, letting The Master hold her in place.

His face softened slightly and he relaxed his grip on her jaw, "I can help you. I will keep your secret hidden and allow you to use and strengthen your gift."

"You want to use me…" Hally eyed him carefully, their foreheads still touching.

"Yes." He smirked, "But right now that's a small price to pay." He pulled away, finally releasing her jaw and stepping back away from her.

She frowned, rubbing her jaw, gently trying to massage away the indents his fingers had left on her skin. "Fine."

His face split into a charming smile, "Excellent, we will begin Tuesday night 7PM sharp. The old observatory will be empty. Don't be late." His eyes glinted with an unsaid warning despite his charming smile.

Hally sighed softly, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll be there, in the meantime perhaps you can figure out a better way to refer to this than 'my gift'." Hally made a face and without giving The Master a chance to reply hurried back down the corridor and towards the dormitories.

The Master smirked as he watched her run away from him. She was strong but eventually, she would stop fighting him and then her power, he chuckled, her _gift_ would be his to control.  
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Tuesday evening crept up on Hally far too quickly, she'd sat nervously twitching her leg during her lessons that day, wondering whether The Master would go through with his threats if she didn't turn up.

She licked her lips, currently stood waiting outside the old observatory on the top level of the Eastern wing. She'd come to the conclusion that it would be safer for herself and her traitorous friend if she did as he'd asked.

Hally knocked quietly on the gold emblazoned door, she heard nothing from inside and slowly pushed the door open, stepping into the centre of the room. The observatory had all but been abandoned 25 years ago when the newer, much larger observatory had been opened at the top of the central tower of the academy. It was almost empty now, a small layer of dust spattering the abandoned workbenches and windowsills. The room was designed like a large silver dome, the roof made entirely of glass panels, the evening light cast a warm orange glow over the floor.

The sound of the door locking behind her made Hally turn around, The Master smirked and held up his hands in mock surrender. "Just making sure no-one disturbs us."

Hally rolled her eyes, "You're already disturbed." She bit back childishly. The Master raised an eyebrow unimpressed.

"Sorry…" She mumbled, breaking his gaze to look at the floor.

The Master started to pace around her slowly, holding his hands into his body. He spoke after a few moments, "Tell me everything. When did this start and what have you previously been able to do?" His tone had changed, The Master was no longer playing with her.

"Umm…" Hally ran a hand through her hair, thinking back. "I only noticed it around 50 years into my time at the academy. It wasn't… I couldn't move things back then but I could-" She trailed off, struggling to find the words, "… I could feel things, differently to normal?" The Master had raised an eyebrow, "Feel things?" He muttered sounding unimpressed.

Hally scowled, "You asked how it started! It was nothing for a long time, until one day, we were in class and we were doing this stupidly long test and my hand was hurting, I just remember wishing that my pen would just write what I was thinking when… well, that's what it did." She shrugged, "After that, I noticed other weird things tended to happen around me, the fruit I eat is always sweet, it stops raining whenever I go outside… I can move things when I want to but sometimes it happens on its own, so I stopped. I didn't want anyone to find out." Hally frowned, watching The Master carefully. He'd stopped his circling and was now stood in front of her, thinking.

"So, you developed like this naturally, on your own…" He muttered, looking at her as if she were some kind of specimen.

"I guess so." She shrugged, "Look, I think you're getting way too invested in some very basic level telekinesis, I'm no-" The Master rolled his eyes, cutting her off.

"You've hardly touched the surface of what you might be capable of." He snapped. He brought a long piece of fabric out of his robe pocket. "Come here." Hally gritted her teeth at his command but moved over to him. He lifted the fabric and began to tie it around her head, shielding her eyes.

Hally ducked, shaking him off, "Woah, I don't think so." He scowled, holding her head in place as he resumed putting on the blindfold.

"Do as you're told." He muttered and Hally felt his hands fall away.

The Master had gone quiet and Hally resisted the strong urge to rip the blindfold off, she turned her head to the side.

"Umm… if you've just left me here then I'm going to kick your a-" She was cut off.

"Stop talking!" Hally pulled a face, happy she couldn't see the glare The Master was most definitely throwing her way. She heard a frustrated sigh before feeling warm fingertips brushing her temples, she flinched.

"You're going to need to trust me…"


	4. Part 1 - Chapter 4

Hally had to stop herself from hitting The Master's hands away as he gently rested his fingers on her temples, the blindfold covering her eyes blocking out the orange light of the suns. She felt The Master's presence gently nudge at her mental barriers. Alarm jolted through Hally and she threw all her effort into strengthening her blockage against him.

"I need you to trust me…" The Master whispered, effort clear in his voice. "I need to show you something." Hally frowned and instinctively placed her hands over The Master's, ready to rip his hands away should he delve anywhere she didn't want him.

Slowly Hally's brow relaxed and she held back the wall surrounding her mind to allow The Master in. Everything was quiet for a moment; The Master was quiet and still in her mind as if showing her that he wouldn't harm her.

" _Now what?"_ Hally thought, knowing The Master would be able to hear her now that she had allowed him into her mind. She heard him chuckle in her head, as he did Hally heard the faint beating of his hearts as she had done before…

She frowned, the noise didn't sound like a heartbeat anymore, it was tangible, like a drum or a knock. Before she could dwell on the faint noise The Master's thoughts interrupted her own.

" _You are going to expand your consciousness to the room around you. Your telekinetic power allows you to move and control objects. To hone that power, you must first learn how to connect yourself to and feel those objects around you."_ Hally wasn't sure what he meant, but she tried to concentrate on imagining the room they were standing in.

" _Mmm, that'll do. The table underneath that window, I want you to lift it."_ The Master gestured, waiting.

Hally concentrated trying to imagine the table rising, slowly and effortlessly it did. She heard The Master sigh.

" _Lift it in the outside world. Idiot."_ She scowled and surged her consciousness forward, bumping into his painfully.

" _I don't know how!"_ The Master nudged her consciousness back, irritated.

" _Feel the world around you! Pay attention to it!"_

Hally bit her lip and tried to do as The Master had told her, she tried to imagine that she was extending her mind like a blanket over the room, she concentrated most of all on the table. Slowly but surely, she began to feel a heaviness to the table, a link from her mind to the outside world. Hally could feel the stretch in her mind as she willed the table to rise, it felt heavy. Hally felt a small spark of fear that whatever link she'd created would suddenly snap and rebound onto her.

" _Slowly…"_ The Master's voice echoed in her mind. Hally slowly pulled on the link, willing harder for the table to rise. After a few moments, the table groaned and began to hover shakily above the ground.

The Master's presence in her mind retreated and she felt the blindfold being removed, "Now open your eyes." Hally did so and looked over towards the floating table, she grinned back at The Master.

"It worked!" She laughed happily, The Master didn't look too impressed.

"Barely. Do it again."

Hally sighed softly, closing her eyes once more.

The lesson continued this way for what felt like hours, The Master repeatedly had Hally levitate the table until she could feel and lift it with only a few seconds concentration. Only once he'd been satisfied that she was making progress did he allow her to rest.

Hally sat herself down on the dusty floor, exhausted. Her head was pounding with fatigue and she was starving.

"Are we done now? I think I'm going to die…" She groaned softly, holding her head in her hands.

The Master rolled his eyes, reaching into his robe and passing her a small bottle of water, "Drink that and stop moaning. You did well, but you need to keep practising. This." He poked her forehead, "Is a muscle. Currently a very weak one." He looked at her disapprovingly.

Hally shrugged, taking the water and lifting the bottle up to her lips for a few desperate gulps. "Thank you for the encouragement." She smirked mockingly.

"I will ensure that you can use this room whenever you wish. No-one will disturb you up here." The Master explained, taking back the water. "Eventually you will be able to move any object at will… and then we shall see about externalising this force, exploring its physical capabilities…" The Master had started pacing and Hally got the impression that he was mainly talking to himself.

Hally nodded slowly and the two fell into silence, Hally closed her eyes, trying to soothe her aching head. She frowned, remembering the noise she had heard when The Master had been inside her mind.

"What was that noise? I've heard it before, last week when you… cornered me." Hally started, "The tapping, of four?" Hally looked up to The Master, a look of confusion on her face.

The Master's face contorted into one of anger and Hally was sure that he was about to shout a retort back at her when suddenly he relaxed and his face fell into an expression cool indifference.

"The drums. They've called to me since I was a child." He said matter-of-factly. "Ever since I stood in front of the untempered schism." His eyes had narrowed slightly as if he were challenging her to question him.

"That'd drive me crazy…" She muttered quietly, looking up at him apologetically.

He smirked at her, "Currently my irritation at you has quietened the drums. I think perhaps you will drive me crazy before they do." He was mocking her and Hally sighed, deciding that she was too tired to deal with his teasing at the present moment, she got to her feet, trying to brush off some of the dust that had settled on her as she'd sat.

"Well, can I go now?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

The Master laughed at her defensive stance, "Of course, I know you must be itching to get back to your usual evening plans." He smirked knowingly, "Why the daughter of The Doctor, one of the founding members of The Deca, I'm genuinely surprised your peers aren't falling over themselves to be seen with you." His eyes glinted with malicious laughter.

Hally gritted her teeth, "Why do you have to be such a-…Urgh!" Hally shouted in exasperation. "Stop mocking me." The Master opened his mouth to respond but Hally cut him off. "No! No, because it's not my fault that none of them want anything to do with me! It's not my fault that my mother hates me and 'your friend', The Doctor is totally indifferent towards my existence! I never did anything to hurt them! To disappoint them! So, don't you dare start mocking me and holding that against me because I hardly see people lining up to associate themselves with you!" Hally was fuming. The Master's comment had sparked something inside of her which had ignited a flame of anger and Hally had had enough, he had been prodding at her patience all day and Hally had finally felt herself snap as her frustration broke to the surface. Hally's skin was tinted red, her hands curled into fists as she faced The Master.

But he wasn't even looking at her anymore, he was looking up at the glass ceiling of the observatory, intrigued.

Hally slowed her breathing and looked up, following his gaze. The ceiling above them was visibly shaking, a pained rattling sounds reverberating through the glass. Hally frowned, her temper residing as she became more engrossed in the ceiling. Slowly, she watched as the shaking stopped, small light cracks were visible inside the once perfect glass.

"What was that?" She frowned, looking back at The Master who was smiling.

"That was you." He replied, looking at her in a way that Hally suspiciously thought might be pride.

"I don't need them and neither do you. The Doctor is a fool for brushing you aside." He moved towards her, curling his hand gently to rest on her neck.

"You are exquisite, you are better than them all." He whispered softly, a small smile pulling at his mouth.


	5. Part 1 - Chapter 5

It had been a few months since Hally's first lesson with The Master. While he had been unforgiving and harsh during their sessions, he had been pleased to see that she'd been making fast progress over the past few months. Despite her initial resistance, Hally had eventually fallen into a happy routine and they had even decided to increase their sessions to twice a week. During her spare time, Hally could be found in the observatory, which was now dust free thanks to a rather large misfired energy blast. For the first time in a long time, Hally was truly focused, she was excited and a little proud to have developed the power she'd initially feared so much in just a few months. Of course, she was still a far cry from perfect and although her telekinetic abilities now came naturally to her and she was able to physicalise the energy into weak barriers and blast attacks, her accuracy and stamina were not yet to The Master's standards. Her mental capacity was still limited by fatigue and her abilities could only be sustained for an intermediate amount of time.

This was why Hally was currently standing, alone, in the dark observatory at around midnight that evening. The Master had grown frustrated with her the evening before after she'd been unable to sustain her protection barrier for longer than 12 minutes. He had expressed his anger repeatedly by throwing golf-ball-sized pebbles at her head in an attempt to force her to work through the fatigue.

Hally grit her teeth in determination, set on improving before the night was out if only to save herself from more circular bruises. She held up her hands in front of her and a thin, golden shimmer blinked into life emanating from her hands. As she concentrated the form spread and slowly engulfed her entire body in a shell of bright golden light, the more effort she pushed into the shield the thicker it became until eventually, it felt strong enough. Hally stepped out from inside the golden shell, holding it in place as she moved a few paces backwards. She nodded to herself and focusing intently she flicked her right hand in a small movement towards the barrier.

A small pebble that had been discarded on the floor after the previous evening's assault suddenly flew and hit the shield with a loud crack! Bouncing off and falling back to the floor. Hally continued the assault on the barrier, throwing rocks and other small items that were littered around the room into the barrier so fast they looked like tiny bullets. Almost all of them bounced off noisily but slowly, after around 10 minutes, a few of them began to sail through.

Hally sighed softly, lowering her hands as the barrier flickered and blinked out of existence. She rubbed her head gently, the familiar headache beginning to creep up the back of her skull. Hally felt frustration begin to rise up inside her chest, she conjured a small crackle of energy in the palm of her hand, throwing it hard against the far wall with a cry. The blast hit the wall with a smack and ricocheted around the room, causing the glass roof of the observatory to shake dangerously. Hally ran a hand through her hair, noticing the black jagged mark on the wall that The Master would be sure to mention.

A small movement by the door caught Hally's eye, it was slightly ajar and through the dark gap, Hally was sure she could see two beady eyes staring back at her. In a swish of red, the eyes vanished and Hally heard loud footsteps jogging away from the door.

"Shit!" She muttered under her breath, sprinting towards the door and pulling it open. Her blood ran cold as she watched Councillor Xia begin to descend the spiral staircase back towards the main hub of the academy. In a split second, she made the decision to follow him, hoping to cut him off at the base of the stairs. She ran after him, throwing herself as quickly as she could down the stairs in order to catch him. She wasn't thinking far enough to consider what she was actually going to do when she caught him but somehow in her mad panic she managed to reach him at the bottom of the stairs, grabbing his robe tightly in her hand.

Councillor Xia whirled round as she pulled at his clothing, his hand connecting with the side of her face as he backhanded her hard. Hally cried out in pain, losing her grip on his robes and falling to the floor. Black spots were dancing in front of her eyes as she clutched at her throbbing cheek.

"Ow…" She muttered meekly, shaking her head in an attempt to clear her vision.

Councillor Xia was stood over her, his face was stern and uncaring, "What treachery is this child?!" He shouted venomously, swooping down and winding his large hand into her hair. The Councillor unceremoniously pulled Hally to her feet, ignoring her pained protests and began to drag her down the corridor, no doubt to Chancellor Borusa's study.

Hally screamed in anger, throwing her bodyweight against Xia. He shrugged her off and continued to drag her forward.

"Silence child, The President will be hearing of your meddling…" He growled and began to pull her down another set of stairs, Hally did her best not to trip and fall as she was roughly dragged down.

Hally was panicking, he was taking her to The President?! There was no way she'd be able to get out of this unscathed if Xia made it to The President to explain what he'd seen. Hally could hear her hearts beating loudly in her head as she desperately tried to figure a way out of this mess. The noise in her head jolted her thoughts and she mentally reached out to The Master as best she could.

" _Help!"_ She shouted mentally, trying to send The Master an image of where she was. She struggled helplessly against Councillor Xia's strong grip, groaning in pain as he pulled harder on her hair.

They had entered the central column of the academy now and Hally knew that sooner or later they'd bump into more Time Lords on patrol. Taking a deep breath Hally threw out a splayed hand hitting Xia as hard as she could in the ribs. Hally's physical strength alone wouldn't have achieved much but in her panic, the sheer force of the energy blast that accompanied the hit ripped Xia away from her and threw him hard against the wall. Hally heard a loud crack as his head connected with the wall and watched in horror as his eyes rolled back into his head and he slid down to the floor.

"Please don't be dead…" She whispered, checking the corridor for others. Content that the corridor was still empty Hally edged towards the now unconscious Councillor, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that his chest was still rising and falling slowly.

The sound of soft footsteps made Hally whirl around, hands raised to attack.

"Whoa there…" The Master raised his hands in mock surrender before his gaze turned to the unconscious Councillor. Hally watched The Master calmly assess the situation, he seemed to be slightly out of breath as if he'd been running.

"What happened?" He looked back at her, his expression grave as he noted the dark bruise that was already forming on her cheek.

She swallowed nervously, her hearts still beating loudly. "He saw me… he was going to Borusa, I didn't have time to think…" Hally felt like she was going to be sick, she wrapped her arms around her chest tightly. "I didn't mean to…"

The Master nodded slowly, he took a few slow steps forward, his face softening.

"It's alright." Very slowly he wrapped his arms around Hally, one of his hands gently hovering behind her head. He guided her into his embrace, resting her head against his chest. The Master could feel her shaking slightly, her two hearts beating erratically against his chest. He held her still for a few long moments until eventually, her hearts began to slow. The Master gently stroked the back of her head with his hand, "You did well." He quietly encouraged.

Hally stirred in his arms, shifting to look up at The Master. Her eyes were wide like a deer caught in the headlights, her breathing was short and shallow.

"What?" She looked up at him in confusion. The Master had to stop himself from taking a sharp breath, she looked so perfectly vulnerable in his arms, looking to him for help.

He took a deep breath, "It's late." He looked over to Councillor Xia's still body, "Go back to the dormitory. I will sort this." He looked back at her and released her from his hold, his usual cold expression back in place.

Hally looked quickly over to Xia and back to The Master, she swallowed and nodded slowly. She walked past The Master heading for the door he'd just come from, pausing and looking back at him, he was now crouched over Xia's sleeping form.

"Thank you…" She muttered slowly before disappearing through the door.

The Master watched her go before turning his attention back to Xia. He smiled to himself, pleased to see the progress the girl had been making. Her fear had resulted in a blast so powerful that she had knocked a man double her weight into the wall with enough force to almost kill him.

The Master's smile grew, she was certainly on her way to becoming a force to be reckoned with.

_My force._

* * *

Hally was sat trying to concentrate on listening to Lord Vxyai as he lectured at the front of the small stuffy classroom. She still felt shaken by the events of the previous night and wanted nothing more than to go and find The Master and ask him what had happened to Councillor Xia.

"Now as you know the constellation of An Gàrradh has been referred to by many a civilisation as Eden or perhaps even what is thought to be Heaven…" Hally looked down at her desk frowning, she was lucky she hadn't killed Xia last night, she'd never meant to expel that much force.

"…and as Time Lords may see all of time and space, the people of An Gàrradh are able to look through time as well. It is their gift…" If The Master hadn't shown up when he did what would she have done, Hally thought, biting her lip.

"…however, the governments and councils choose not to elect a President as we do but rather they identify a suitable King or Queen by looking throughout time. Then they wait until their Sovereign is ready before the retiring King or Queen presents them one day with the blue Sorverous flower… and so the tradition continues…" Hally gently raised a hand to her face where Xia had struck her, the swelling had reduced overnight and now all that remained was a slightly discoloured patch of skin, however, it was still tender.

"…The current King Abstrax has reigned for over 1,000 years and as next year is his 1,100th he will be visiting many a constellation as a celebration. I know The President is eager to host and further strengthen Gallifreyan relations with his people." Suddenly Persca, who had been sitting beside Hally, grabbed Hally's hand and gave her a pointed look.

"Stop tapping… it's distracting." She whispered. Hally frowned, she hadn't realised she'd been tapping. She shook her head and tried instead to focus again on what Lord Vxyai was saying.

The remainder of the lesson passed by in a bit of a blur and Hally eventually found herself sat with Persca and, for some reason, Lenden in the academy grand dining hall for dinner that evening. Students of all ages and ranks sat about the hall alongside researchers from all levels of the academy, as was tradition. Hally paid little attention to the conversation her companions were having, staring intently at her food as she moved it around the plate.

"My Lords and Ladies!" The room fell silent as Chancellor Borusa stepped slowly up onto the small platform at the top of the room. Hally looked up a small flicker of fear dropping into her stomach.

"It is my duty to inform you that unfortunately, our good Councillor Xia has taken leave of the Citadel due to unavoidable circumstances and will therefore no longer be able to fulfil his duty to The High Council." Borusa paused for a few moments, his head bowed. Hally's face paled, her suspicions over what had been Councillor Xia's fate only growing.

"However, it is a great honour to announce that, in light of these recent events, The Lord Master will be stepping in to undertake this great responsibility." From behind a group of students, The Master stepped up and onto the platform, bowing his head in Borusa's direction respectfully.

A polite round of applause circled the room as The Master turned to address the hall, his eyes roaming the tables before he found a familiar pair of wide, brown eyes.

" _The things I do for you…"_ He whispered into Hally's mind, his face lighting up into a charming smile.


	6. Part 1 - Chapter 6

Hally raised her hand to her face lazily, trying to block out the bright afternoon sunlight that was winding its way through the silvery shimmering leaves swaying above her. She looked to her left squinting at her blonde friend who was lying perpendicular to her, a large textbook in her hands.

"You're meant to be reading…" Persca mumbled, concentrating hard on the squiggly diagrams and complicated maps that littered the open pages.

"I am reading… the sun was in my eyes." Hally moaned back, lifting up the book that had been discarded on her stomach. "And this is so boring, why do we need to learn how to manually navigate space debris when a TARDIS will do that for us!" Pouting, Hally turned the page of her book. She twiddled her thumbs and closed her eyes, sighing softly with boredom.

Persca tutted loudly, "Not all of them!" She snapped her book shut. "Honestly! You have the attention span of a Shabogan!"

Hally propped herself up on her elbows, raising an eyebrow at her friend. "A Shabogan? That's just rude to Shabogans." She flopped back down onto her back pouting at her friend playfully.

Persca rolled her eyes and sat up, abandoning her own book and instead picking up the one Hally had been trying to read.

"Right…" She flipped to the chapter Hally had been reading and began to scan the text furiously. "I'm testing you."

"Urgh!" Hally covered her face with her arms, rolling onto her stomach away from Persca. "I don't need you to test me you bookworm!"

Persca ignored her and found the passage she'd been looking for. "Aha! So, at what velocity would you ideally accelerate at in order to avoid temporal shift whe-"

"I honestly just don't care!" Hally huffed loudly, sitting up and snapping the book in Persca's hand shut with a dull thump. Persca crossed her arms angrily, making her look like a spoilt child whose parents were refusing to buy her ice cream.

"I have way more important things to worry about than a cartography quiz!" Hally groaned inwardly, covering her face with her hand.

She heard Persca sigh softly, although the noise was distorted by the rough wind that had suddenly picked up around them both. The warmth from the afternoon sun had vanished leaving behind an icy chill.

Hally dropped her hands into her lap, checking the sky for rain. The clouds above them were now thick and dark, casting a gloomy grey hue over the grounds.

"Damn…" Hally muttered softly, rubbing her head gently. She looked up at Persca who was looking at her sympathetically.

"You're worried about the naming day, aren't you?" She asked quietly.

Hally bit her lip, tilting her head slightly. "Among other things." She peaked up at the sky, the clouds rolling over one another irritably.

"You don't need to worry, you're going to be fine. I'll be there, and my family will be more than happy to 'adopt' you for the day." Persca grinned, trying to get Hally to smile.

Hally nodded. "I know…although that's definitely not how it works. I appreciate the sentiment. I just… I wish my family weren't so useless." She picked up the book she'd been attempting to read and stood up. Persca got to her feet beside her.

"I think it's going to rain…" Persca looked up at the sky, crossing her arms over her chest in an attempt to shield herself from the icy wind.

Hally nodded slowly, not really listening. "I need to find The Master." She turned away from her friend, heading back towards the academy. Persca frowned and quickly followed her friend, stepping up beside her.

"What? Why?" Persca frowned. "I don't like him you know."

Hally gave her a look. "You worry too much." They both pushed on the large metal door and slipped back into the academy, finally protected from the now raging winds outside.

Persca uncrossed her arms, grabbing Hally by the shoulder. "No, I don't. He's bad news… I don't trust him."

Hally sighed softly, pushing Persca's hand off of her shoulder irritably. "Well, I do." She turned and began walking along the corridor, hoping to be able to shrug her friend off and make her way up to the old observatory to let off some steam.

However, Persca persisted and caught up with her again. "You can't actually trust him though… you've heard the rumours?"

Hally stopped walking and turned on Persca. "Of course, I've heard the rumours. Persca please, just drop it." Hally stared intently at Persca, willing her to back down.

Persca frowned slightly but stepped back. "Fine." She held up her hands in resignation. "Don't come crying to me when he tries to murder you." Persca shook her head and turned dramatically on her heel walking away.

Hally ran a hand through her hair and once she was sure Persca really had gone, she made her way up to the observatory. It'd been a few months since Councillor Xia had disappeared and The Master had taken on his role. As with any change at the academy, the students had taken to starting ridiculous rumours about how The Master must have thrown Xia off the tallest tower in order to get his job. While to most it was just idle gossip, Hally couldn't help but dwell on the fact that the rumours might just be closer to the truth than anyone realised.

Hally felt a pang of guilt as her thoughts wandered back to her friend, although she hadn't lied to Persca, for some reason or another she did trust The Master. She could at least trust him to be consistent, which was why Hally wasn't surprised to find him already waiting for her in the observatory that afternoon, he was gazing out through one of the large glass windows, his back to her.

"Here was me thinking that we were expecting clear skies all week…" He turned as she closed the door.

Hally shot him an innocent smile but The Master simply shook his head. "No. Change it back." He was obviously not in the mood for games.

It was Hally's turn to shake her head. "I can't? I can't just change the weather…" She grimaced as he scoffed loudly.

"Don't be such an idiot. You already have changed the weather! Now change it back!" The Master had crossed his arms, he was looking at her expectantly.

Hally mimicked him and crossed hers, she walked over to the window and looked out at the sky. The winds were still raging and Hally could still feel the internal anger sitting inside her chest, although the clouds had stilled now, creating an even blanket that covered the tops of the academy buildings.

"You're too emotional. You need to control it." The Master stepped behind her, she felt his fingers come to rest at her temples. "Relax woman."

Hally bit her lip and gently stretched her neck to either side, the feeling of his hands on her temples strangely comforting. It was so annoying when he was right.

Slowly Hally calmed her breathing, she closed her eyes and felt the small presence of The Master on the outskirts of her consciousness. As she became aware of him the steady sound of the drumbeat drifted into her mind. The sound was hypnotic and Hally found herself homing in on the dull rhythm, her hearts eventually slowing to match the beat.

She opened her eyes and held out her hands. Taking a deep breath in she focused the on dark blanket above them. As she breathed out Hally allowed herself to push the remaining frustration out of her mind, she felt something inside her let go and the clouds above them slowly disappeared into nothingness. The wind seemed to drop instantly and within seconds the bright sky had returned.

She lowered her hands and as she did she felt The Master's fingertips drop from her temple.

"See, that wasn't so hard." He mocked from behind her. Hally turned around and rolled her eyes at him.

"It seems very stupid of you to try and rile me after we only just fixed that…" Hally motioned to the sky and moved away from the window.

The Master smirked and turned to watch her. "So… what made you feel so… stormy?" He raised an eyebrow.

Hally rolled her eyes, highly doubting that The Master was at all concerned with her emotional wellbeing. "It's stupid."

He scoffed. "So are most things that young Time Ladies waste their time thinking about, however, most of them don't have the ability to bring about a maelstrom every time they have a tantrum. I've heard talking helps."

Hally laughed. "Oh, have you? Is that you offering to act as my therapist as well as my tutor?"

The Master smirked his annoyingly confident smirk and leant against the table that was pushed up against the wall, waiting.

Hally looked down at her hands, scowling at them. "It's nothing."

The Master nodded silently. A few long drawn out moments of silence followed.

Hally looked up and glared at him. "You must think you're so clever…" She sighed dramatically. "It's this stupid naming day. Everyone has so many ideas about what they want to be known as… what they want to be, and I honestly have no idea what I even am!" She motioned to the sky as if it proved her point. "I don't want to be any of this so how am I meant to choose a meaningful name that's going to define me for the rest of my life?" She looked at him, expecting him to laugh.

The Master shrugged as if it was the easiest decision in the world. "Just be yourself."


	7. Part 1 - Chapter 7

Hally stood, breathing slowly, inside the vast underpass leading out into the arena, her classmates and their guardian escorts chattering happily around her. She couldn't help but notice the pit in her stomach was growing larger and larger with each step forward she took along the line. Most of the class had been extremely excited for this day, the naming ceremony, a true milestone in each Time Lord life witnessed by family and friends at the academy. She tried to drown out the excited whisperings and instead looked down at her hands, frustrated to find them shaking slightly. She didn't want to be nervous, she certainly didn't want to accept that what she felt was fear, however, the prospect of walking out into the arena without an escort and without any real idea of what she was about to say was finally dawning on her. She really had tried to think for days on end for a name that felt right, after all, she would be stuck with it for the rest of her life, so it had to be perfect, however, as usual, Hally had let time get away from her and had instead spent her time focused on menial things; irritating the teachers and hiding as many of Persca's belongings as possible.

She wished more than anything to be lying alongside the ornate hand mirror that she'd hidden that morning, underneath the corner floorboard of the boy's dormitory. Hally scowled and huffed quietly.

_Don't be so pathetic, get your ass out there and just make a choice!_

She nodded to herself, lifting her chin up slightly and stepping forward as another student stepped out with their guardian to begin the ceremony. Hally would be damned if she let them see weakness today. She'd never needed her parents before and she certainly didn't need them now. Hally nervously bit the inside of her lip as frustration flared inside her.

It was quickly replaced with dread as she realised that she'd somehow reached the front of the line. From where Hally was stood she could see Henrik up ahead, he was writing his chosen name on a small piece of parchment. A short, severe-looking woman, whom Hally assumed to be Henrik's mother, took the parchment and as was custom, bowed and handed the name to the overseeing Chancellor.

"I name thee before me, child of Gallifrey, Urshan!" The boy bowed his head, the Chancellor touching his forehead lightly, "You are bound by the duty of the Time Lords, by Rassilon, the Matrix and the sacred rules of time."

Henrik, now Urshan muttered something inaudible, nodding his head. Hally looked up at the elder holding the line, he looked down at her with a stern glance and she was almost sure she heard him tut under his breath. As Urshan walked towards the exit of the arena, the crow-like old man waved his hand, ushering her forward impatiently.

Blood pounded through her ears painfully, she was almost sure that she was going to be sick as bile rose in her throat. Hally forced her feet to move, squinting as she stepped into the brightly lit arena. The walk felt far too long and the arena all too silent as she tried to keep her eyes firmly set on the round alter ahead. Instead, she tried to fill her mind with a hurricane of useless thoughts, anything to distract her.

_Temporal mechanics! Yes, that always sends me right off!_

Hally started to recite the previous night's lesson, one of the few the Master had actually spent some time teaching her what he was supposed to be teaching her. He'd spent at least 50 minutes explaining the pros and cons of string theory. Hally smiled slightly to herself, remembering how frustrated he'd grown when, after he'd finished, she'd stared blankly back at him in confusion. He'd strained his jaw in annoyance before calling her at least five different variations of stupid. However, all she'd really been able to concentrate on was what a good jawline he had, strong. She could remember feeling the heat rolling off his body as he grew more frustrated. All she'd wanted to do was reach out and tou-

_No! Nope! That is not helping!_

Hally shook her head, heat rising on her cheeks. Hally was now painfully aware of everyone watching as she took a step up onto the platform next to the alter. The Chancellor was a rather short man, his face was round and currently very pink. Hally grimaced slightly, feeling a droplet of sweat run slowly down her back, the burning heat from the sun getting trapped underneath her stupidly heavy ceremonial robes.

The Chancellor scrunched up his face and Hally realised she'd been staring at him motionless for the past few seconds, she muttered a quick apology before taking a piece of parchment and pen from the alter. The pen hovered over the paper as Hally bit her lip slightly. She'd expected that at this moment some sort of epiphany would come to her, that she'd suddenly just know what to write.

Hally could feel _his_ eyes on her, intense as always like he was somehow boring into her soul. She swore inwardly, not knowing how she was going to choose a name. Time Lords chose names that they could aspire to, a name that would signify the person they would strive to become. How could she possibly decide on a name to define the rest of her life when she hadn't the faintest idea who she was or what she wanted to become.

Hally frowned deep in thought, perhaps that was just it. She scribbled quickly on the parchment, aware of the Chancellor huffing restlessly beside her. Awkwardly handing it to him, he cleared his throat.

"I name thee before me, child of Gallifrey, Hally!" She bowed her head slightly and the Chancellor touched her forehead with his thumb, "You are bound by the duty of the Time Lords, by Rassilon, the Matrix and the sacred rules of time." He motioned with his hand towards the exit of the arena, looking at her impatiently.

"That'll do…" she muttered before hopping off the platform. Hally trotted towards the exit, finally looking up at the crowd and almost instantly finding his piercing blue stare. She felt her cheeks burn as his lips curved into a smug smile, she pursed her lips slightly in annoyance before letting them fall into an easy smirk. She gave him a quick wink before ducking under the archway leading back out of the arena and through to the cooler confines of the academy hallways.

* * *

The ceremony had ended about an hour ago, the students were all currently congregated in the grand hall of the eastern corridor, still clad in their familial robes, chatting with their extended families and fellow peers. Soft music was coming from the far corner of the room, a small string band playing over the low buzz of conversation. Above them, a golden archway ran up and along the wall, thickening and joining with each corner panel to form a magnificent dome overhead. Intricate grooves and patterns detailed the dome, causing the light flooding in from the large glass windows to dance across the ceiling, throwing small shadows onto those stood below.

Hally watched as Persca, now Trymanna swatted her mother's hand away from her hair for the fourth time, upon seeing Hally watching, she rolled her eyes and started walking towards the long table where Hally was quite happily sat.

"You can't just sit here all alone you know, you're meant to mingle." Persca folded her arms, looking down at her.

Hally groaned softly, "I don't want to mingle, most of our class are idiots" Hally folded her arms back at Persca, mocking her stance.

Persca sat down beside Hally, "Well you can't just sit here for three hours, you're expected to dance even if no one's here for you" she said in the accusatory tone she so often used.

Hally fought the urge to stick out her tongue, "Thank you for your kind words, I certainly feel like dancing now" she rolled my eyes, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"Well…" a smooth voice interrupted us from behind Hally, Persca looked up nervously, Hally closed her eyes in exasperation already seeing the infuriating smirk in her mind's eye.

"I suppose if you insist." The Master continued, Hally clenched her jaw and turned around in her seat to glare at him. He had his hand outstretched towards her, his eyebrow raised in a silent command.

She narrowed her eyes at him, not appreciating this game he was playing. "No thank you," Hally replied curtly, turning back to face Persca who was staring at her incredulously.

Hally watched as Persca's faced paled and could only assume the Master was treating her to one of his best glares as she quietly squeaked an excuse and scuttled back to her mother.

"Traitor…"

He chuckled darkly from behind her, "Dance with me."

It wasn't a question.

Hally felt defiance flare inside of her, "I'm a terrible dancer".

"I expected nothing less" he mocked from behind. "Are you really going to disobey a Councillor in front of half of the Gallifreyan council?"

Hally allowed herself to steal a look over towards the high table at the top of the room, most eyes were set on the small crowd of students gathered in the centre, all engrossed in conversations with not a single person dancing. However, a few eyes were curiously flitting over to their direction, she sighed in resignation and the Master moved his outstretched hand into her line of vision. He knew he'd won.

"I'm going to hit you over the head with something heavier than a book for this…" she grumbled, dropping her hand unceremoniously into his. He pulled her up roughly, forcing her to trip over the hem of her robe and land against his chest. He caught her arms and straightened her up, catching her chin with his hand tilting her face up to meet his.

"Careful." He smirked, his eyes flashing with a dark warning. "Just follow your Master."

Hally bit back a sharp reply as he placed his hand behind her neck, guiding her forward into the centre of the room, he removed his hand, instead placing it at her waist. Hally felt her cheeks warming as heads turned to see who had started dancing, she could see Persca's pale face and remembered the warning she'd given a few nights before.

" _Be careful." She'd said, a deep frown marring her face. "I know you're not good at doing what you're told… but the way he looks at you... like a lion cornering a lamb."_

"I'm not a lamb" Hally breathed. She heard the Master's short laugh in front of her as he twisted his hand tighter around her and inconspicuously squeezed her waist.

"Not quite as helpless." He smirked as she flushed and went to pull away. "We'll make you a lioness yet." He held her still, digging his hand into her side as they moved across the floor.

"You're hurting me." She said through gritted teeth.

The Master ignored her and she looked past him. People were still watching as they danced, although with much less interest. Hally noted that a few other students had taken to dancing to her relief. Hally slowly allowed herself to be led by him, if only to avoid falling flat on her face. As she relaxed slightly she felt his grip loosen, she flicked her gaze back up to his dark ocean eyes. They were smiling, a mischievous glint sparkling dangerously.

Hally coughed awkwardly, looking away as she tried to ignore how frantically her hearts were hammering in her chest. He continued to lead her, weaving purposefully through the other pairs.

"I'm not sure these robes are your colour." He murmured after a few minutes, moving his gaze up to her face. Hally frowned and looked down at the varying shades of scarlet that adorned her robes.

"It wasn't like I had a ch…" The Master cut her off, brushing a hair away from her face. His eyes were narrowed.

"You look pale, you haven't been sleeping." If anyone else had said it, you might have mistaken it for a caring gesture, but the Master's accusatory tone did not go unnoticed and she looked at the floor.

"No- well… I've been trying?" She looked up sheepishly, the Master had schooled his expression, although his eyes burned with anger. Hally stammered slightly, trying to explain. "I was nervous." she bit my lip. "About today."

He regarded her closely, "You don't need the Doctor," he spat and she felt the arm around my waist tense.

"That's not what I meant." She replied coolly. "I didn't know what I was going to choose."

The Master's face suddenly split into a laugh and Hally shot him an unhappy glare, "What's so funny?"

He shook his head, amused. "It took you that long to decide on the name you already have?"

She scowled, irritated by his sudden change in mood. "You're unbelievable."

He laughed, licking his lower lip. "You had so many good options, The Loner, The Abomination, The Smartarse?"

Hally wrenched her hand out of his and smacked him in the chest. "Oh, you're so funny! Mr 'I'm so much smarter than everybody else'." She opened my mouth to continue a spiel of terribly thought out insults when she realised that the Master had backed her into a corner, the cold wall grazing her back lightly.

"Go on…?" He was looking down at her with that infuriating smirk and the words died in her throat.

She was stood, pushed against the wall, with the Master inches from her face. She hated how he was mocking her, how he knew how to push all the right buttons and she hated the fact that _all_ she wanted to do was forget everyone else in the room, wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him.

_No! No, No, NO!_

She was not going to let him back her into a corner. Not today. Hally curled her hand into a fist and pressed it into his chest. To his surprise, she let out a small burst of energy which knocked him back a few steps before she strode past him as quickly as she could to the large bronze encrusted doors, she slipped through silently before breaking into a run. Hally made it back to the dormitory and shut the door, breathing heavily as she leant back against it.

"Shit." She whispered softly, running a hand through her hair. What if someone had seen?

She shook my head, pushing herself off the door and heading over towards the bed, banishing her thoughts to the back of her mind. She flopped herself down on top of the bed, sighing loudly.

_That's tomorrow Hally's problem._


	8. Part 1 - Chapter 8

It had been four days since the naming ceremony and Persca was beginning to worry about the mental state of her friend. Since she had found Hally taking refuge in their dormitory on the night of the naming ceremony she had been acting even stranger than usual, forcing them both to walk unfathomable routes to classes and hide out in their dormitory during mealtimes.

Persca had initially been quite thankful that Hally was now apparently avoiding The Master, however after being roughly pulled into abandoned classrooms and storage cupboards for the last four days, Persca's patience was beginning to dwindle as Hally's behaviour started to head towards paranoia.

"Seriously, what is going on!" Persca whispered venomously after being pulled behind a large ornate sculpture that stood against the wall of one of the Eastern corridors. Instead of responding Hally only shot her a dark scowl, motioning for her to be quiet. Hally strained her neck and peaked around a golden curve of the sculpture seeking to check on the flurry of red robes she had spotted exiting the research facility moments ago. She breathed out a small sigh of relief as the robes disappeared down a busy corridor, straightening herself up.

Persca grabbed her arm and whirled her around, squaring up to Hally. "You can't stop and hide every single time you see a member of the Council! Hally, what is going on? What did he do?" Persca's grip on Hally's arm was as tight as a vice, her voice low and full of concern.

Hally shook her head, looking over her shoulder to check no-one was paying them any attention. "No- he didn't-, nothing happened. I promise." Hally saw Persca's jaw clench and unclench as her friend began to despair.

"No. Don't do that. Don't brush me off because something **must** have happened, otherwise, you wouldn't be acting like such a psycho!" Persca growled lowly.

Hally sighed softly. "Persca…" She paused for a moment, considering how she would even begin to explain all the conflicting thoughts that had been plaguing her mind for the last few days. Hally shook her head, looking Persca in the eye. "Forget it. Persca everything is fine. I need you to believe me." Hally chewed her lip guiltily as she watched Persca's face drop momentarily before she smiled slightly.

"Shall we go to the library, we've got that arithmancy assignment due next week and I'd like to get a head start?" Hally nodded at her friend, thankful for the involuntary change in subject and followed Persca down the corridor to the library, helping her friend take down a few of the books they'd need for the assignment. The pair took their seats at one of the large round tables in the centre of the library. Persca began perusing a thin leather-bound book, jotting down a few notes every once in a while.

Hally watched her friend for a few moments, her own pen hovering over a blank page. The truth was Hally knew she'd been acting irrationally over the past few days, however, the sudden thoughts that she'd had when The Master had cornered her that day had caught her by surprise. Not wanting to dwell on where her mind was so desperate to wander, Hally had instinctively tried to avoid The Master, hoping that a few days without his infuriating presence would squash the unwanted thoughts. However, as each day passed Hally had only grown more and more afraid of seeing The Master and the thoughts that she'd barricaded to the back of her mind had only intensified.

Hally couldn't concentrate, she couldn't think without her mind automatically wandering to the fanatical image she had conjured, she could almost feel the prickly heat of The Master's chest as she'd envisaged pulling him into her embrace, pressing his lips desperately to her own. Hally let out a short breath, shaking her head and brushing her hair out of her now uncomfortably warm face. Hally ran a hand through her hair irritably, a small flame of irritation igniting in her belly.

_This is so inappropriate! I hate him. I'd never want to kiss him! What I really want is to punch him in that smug, stupid fa-!"_

Hally's thoughts were interrupted by the loud bang of the library door being opened at force. The entire library seemed to pause to turn and see what had caused the offensive noise. Both Hally and Persca shifted in their seats so they could get a better look at the library entrance, through which two of the younger members of the High Council were now visible. The only sound that could be heard was the light swish of their robes as they briskly made their way through the library. The current occupants watched in confusion and interest, expecting their Councillors to provide some sort of explanation for their sudden intrusion. Hally turned to Persca, shooting her a confused look. However, Percsa's eyes remained trained on the two newcomers, her face getting paler by the second. Hally frowned at the obvious concern that now marred her face, but when Persca finally shot Hally a look of warning she began to understand that her situation was almost certainly about to get worse.

She looked back and watched as her suspicions were confirmed, the Councillor's were making a beeline directly towards their table, their eyes fixed firmly on Hally. She swallowed nervously and considered if it would be possible for her to make a break for it through the still open library doors. Coming to the conclusion that there was no way she'd be able to fight her way out of this one, Hally stood up slowly leaving her belongings on the desk behind her. Now was not the time to cause a scene, especially with so many curious eyes watching.

The two Councillors finally reached her and without a word, the taller of the two, Councillor Jax she thought, took Hally by the upper arm and led her silently out of the room. Hally looked over her shoulder, shooting Persca what she hoped was a comforting glance as she allowed the Councillors to escort her out of the library. Hally bit her tongue in order to keep herself silent, figuring that until she knew what the hell was going on it'd be best to say nothing at all.

Hally's hearts began to thrum frantically in her chest as she found herself being escorted out of the academy and into the Citadel's tower. Her mind was working overtime trying to figure out what had happened, had they found out about Xia? Had The Master finally given up and ratted her out after she'd taken to avoiding him? Just as Hally felt like she was going to explode with suspense, the two Councillor's paused outside what Hally recognised to be the chamber of the High Council.

_I'm screwed._

She shot a questioning look at Jax, who still had his hand wrapped around her upper arm. He ignored her and placed his hand upon a panel next to the sealed golden double doors. There was a slow hiss and Hally watched as the doors slowly heaved themselves open. The room inside was fairly dark and was lit only by a hanging lamp, the fixture of which descended high up into the seemingly never-ending darkness of the ceiling above. Hally was pulled into the room and heard the pained hiss of the door closing behind her. Eight pairs of suspicious eyes swivelled to look at her, Hally quickly tried to school her expression not wanting to appear guilty or afraid.

Jax manoeuvred her towards a silver chair that had been positioned at the end of a long wooden table where the majority of the High Council now sat, watching intently. Hally sat and Jax took his place at one of the far seats. The room remained eerily silent and Hally felt a pang of dread as she noticed that The Master wasn't present.

Hally could feel their eyes boring into her and although she wanted nothing more than to look away, she kept her chin up, looking each Councillor in the eye silently.

Finally, one of them spoke, he was sat furthest away from Hally and his clasped hands came to rest on the table in front of him as he leant forward. "Where is he?"

Hally couldn't help the slight widening of her eyes in surprise, she coughed softly. "Where is who?" She replied, trying to sound a lot more confident that she was currently feeling.

The Councillor narrowed his dark brown eyes, Hally could practically feel the distrust rolling off him. "Where is the Doctor?"


	9. Part 1 - Chapter 9

Hally's mouth dropped open slightly and a wave of relief washed over her.

"The Doctor?" She repeated, her mouth curving into a small smile as she stopped herself from laughing.

The Council elder's eyes sparkled dangerously as he took Hally's small smile to be an indication that she must somehow be involved in The Doctor's defection.

Hally shook her head slowly. "I have no idea where The Doctor is…" She looked back at the elder incredulously. She'd been so sure that the High Council were going to question her about Councillor Xia, or even hint at some sort of involvement between herself and The Master. She couldn't help but be relieved that they were instead asking after her estranged father.

The dark-haired Councillor sitting to her right suddenly banged his fist hard on the wooden table in front of her. Hally flinched as the gravity of the situation she'd found herself in slowly started to dawn on her.

"This is no joke child. The Doctor has stolen a TARDIS and fled Gallifrey. It is treason and if you know anything of his crimes you would do well to admit it now." The dark-haired Councillor growled, he had lent in so close to Hally that she could feel his hot breath on her face. She tried to sit back in her chair as he leered at her.

Ignoring him, Hally turned back to the Council elder deciding to address him instead. "High Councillor," Hally began, putting on her most polite voice. "I'm afraid I have not heard from my father in many years, I was not aware he had even left Gallifrey until moments ago when you yourself informed me." Hally forced a look of concern onto her face.

The Council elder eyed her suspiciously and the room fell silent for a few long moments. She licked her lips nervously as she tried to slow her breathing. Each Councillor was watching her with varying levels of suspicion. The elder took a moment to survey the room and Hally felt like somehow in the silence the Council were taking part in some sort of vote, deciding whether they believed her to be innocent or not. Hally watched them nervously, The Master's unhelpful words playing on her mind.

" _You stick out like a sore thumb and yet nobody understands why. Don't think for one second that they wouldn't jump at the chance to be rid of you."_

Hally had a sneaking suspicion that the Council were about to prove The Master right, not one of the members in the room were looking at her with anything other than contempt. She sighed softly to herself. Where was that murderous ass when you needed him?

The Council elder cleared his throat and sat back in his chair, an unreadable expression on his face. "Your lies will not go unpunished. You will submit to the High Council of Gallifrey in order that the truth of The Doctor's crimes should come to light." Hally barely had time to open her mouth to protest her innocence before Councillor Jax and the dark-haired Councillor were either side of her. Hally instinctively went to move to stand but they grabbed her by the shoulders forcing her to remain in place.

"What are yo-… Unhand me!" Hally shouted, alarmed at their sudden attack. However, the two Councillors were easily able to overpower her, holding her still in her chair despite her struggle.

The Council elder rose from his seat calmly and circled around the table, stilling behind her. Hally's breath was coming out in ragged pants and she let out a cry of protest as she felt his cold hands clamp down on her temples. She had just enough time to focus on strengthening her mental barrier when she felt the elder's consciousness ram brutally into her defences.

Hally cried out in pain and snapped her eyes shut, tears welled behind her eyelids but she continued to focus on maintaining the barricade inside her mind. The elder's presence recoiled slightly, surprised that her mental defences had not fallen instantly. A small whimper escaped Hally's lips as the elder repeated his bombardment of mental attacks on her mind. Each collision of his mind with her barrier felt like an explosion of tiny glass shards in her brain, but she knew that she couldn't give in, she couldn't stop. There would be no saving herself and The Master if they were able to get inside her mind. She tried to calm her breathing and internally thanked The Master for his unrelenting teaching tactics as she felt the elder's attacks beginning to weaken with fatigue.

She heard his growl of frustration from behind her and the pressure of his hands on her temples was lifted. Exhausted, Hally collapsed forward, having to catch herself on the table after finding that the two Councillors were no longer holding her still.

"Not possible." She heard an unfamiliar voice to her left. Hally opened her eyes slowly, salty tears stinging her eyes. She could hear the Councillors muttering angrily behind her but the words were muffled by the sound of ringing in Hally's ears. She pushed herself back weakly, her shoulders reconnecting with the chair behind her. The room had fallen quiet again, the only sound being that of Hally's harsh breathing.

"Send for him…" The Council elder murmured quietly before Hally heard the unmistakable swish of his robes as he left the room. The rest of the Time Lords followed him and soon enough Hally was left alone in the chamber, the door hissing angrily behind her as it locked.

She groaned, raising her hands to cradle her now aching head. She needed to find a way out of this situation and fast. There was no way she would be able to withstand another mental attack of that force and the idea of the High Council discovering her little secret wasn't worth thinking about. The silent seconds slowly drew into minutes and Hally eventually felt the headache ease up a little, some of her strength returning.

After a few moments contemplating the silence, Hally stood and made her way to the door, pressing her ear up against it to see if she could hear whether anyone was outside. She was met with more silence, cautiously she tried the door and unsurprisingly found it deadlocked. Hally stepped back and surveyed the mechanism of the door carefully, hoping it would somehow unlock.

To her disbelief, the door began to hiss and the hinges started to pull at the heavy door. However, Hally's hope for freedom died as the doors widened far enough for a person to get through. Hally stepped back in panic, almost tripping over the chair she'd been sat in as she backed herself up against the chamber table as The Lord President strode into the room.

Hally tried to cry out but no words came from her throat, she shook her head in a blind panic but Lord President Rassilon was not a patient man and his High Council had informed him that the meek girl before him held information of high importance in the case against The Doctor. His hand shot out and clasped around the thin neck of the girl, pushing her hard against the table she'd backed herself up into.

Hally grabbed his hand, trying to prize his fingers away as she struggled to breathe. She watched in horror as Rassilon raised his right hand, the famous Gauntlet of Rassilon catching on the dim light of the room.

"N-…No!" Hally managed to gasp out, however, The President ignored her plea and raised the gauntlet level with her face. He slowly twisted the ugly weapon and Hally felt a blinding white pain engulf her mind.

Rassilon savoured the high pitched scream that forced its way from Hally's mouth, the sound reverberating around the small room as he twisted the gauntlet further. The girl writhed uncontrollably beneath him, her scream weakening after a few minutes had passed, her voice turning hoarse from the strain.

"My Lord President. I have news of The Doctor" A deep voice sounded from behind Rassilon and he lowered the gauntlet, still holding the girl up by the neck. Her eyes were rolling up into the back of her skull as she fought for consciousness.

"This had better be good…" Rassilon growled as he turned to find The Master stood outside the chamber door.

The Master's gaze flitted briefly to the girl Rassilon had by the neck before turning his steely expression back to The President.

"He has been spotted in the Olde Town. The Council are hoping to cut him off at the exit of the Capitol." The Master relayed quickly, hiding his relief when The President released Hally, his eyes glinting with malicious excitement.

"Indeed we shall." He smirked to himself, marching past The Master at haste.

Hally had fallen to her knees once Rassilon was no longer keeping her upright with his hand at her neck. Her hands dug painfully into the cold stone floor as she desperately tried to stay awake. She was vaguely aware of warm arms coming to hold her shoulders, shaking her gently.

"Stay with me." The Master's gruff voice sounded very far away as she felt him pull her up to her feet.

"Shmuff…" Hally muttered, wrapping her arms around The Master's neck for support. She heard him grunt awkwardly and suddenly the ground was swept out from beneath her feet and the world seemed to tip to one side. Hally opened her eyes and tried to lift her neck upright, in her disorientated state she planted her head into The Master's chest.

"Stop wriggling…" She heard him mutter as she slowly became aware of his arms under her knees and back holding her into his body as he carried her. Hally wanted to shout something indignant at him but the pull of exhaustion was too great, she closed her eyes and found herself slipping into a welcome unconsciousness, the steady beat of four guiding her to sleep.

* * *

The world felt like it was spinning as Hally slowly started to become aware of the world around her. She was lying on something soft, a cocoon of warmth spreading around her. She stirred gently and opened one of her eyes, frowning at the unfamiliar ceiling above her.

"Ow…" Hally's head started to protest as the warm light from the room strained her eyes. She sat up, instantly wishing she hadn't as a wave of pain crashed over her head.

"I think I'm going to be sick…" She muttered quietly to herself, holding her hand to her mouth.

"Please don't." A tired voice echoed from the corner of the room. Hally gasped softly, startled. The Master stood and sauntered over to where she was now sat. Which Hally could now see was a large double bed, black silk sheets pooling at her stomach.

"I'd hate for you to ruin my sheets." He drawled lazily, but Hally thought she saw a hint of concern in his icy blue eyes.

Hally's eyes widened. "Y-…your sheets? This is your room…?" Hally gaped and looked down at herself, relieved to find she was still fully dressed, The Master laughed softly as if sensing her train of thought.

"I'm not really into undressing unconscious women but it's nice to see you think so highly of me."

Hally looked around the room, the events of the previous few hours coming back to her slowly. "What happened?" She turned back to The Master. His jaw clenched uncomfortably, Hally noticed that he wasn't currently wearing his usual black robes but instead stood in black slacks and a shirt.

"I sent the Council and our dear President off on a wild goose chase through the Olde Town. When they returned I managed to convince the Council that I had penetrated your mind and found no involvement in The Doctor's scheme." The Master perched himself on the edge of his bed, watching her. "However, I thought it'd be safest to bring you here so they wouldn't be able to find you should they feel inclined to check."

"And The Doctor?" Hally frowned, pulling the black silk sheets up around her shoulders slightly, a shiver running through her.

A flash of concealed anger appeared behind The Master's eyes. "Gone."

Hally's heart sank, her father had abandoned her. He had left her to suffer Rassilon's wrath alone.


	10. Part 1 - Chapter 10

The Master closed his tired eyes whilst he sat in the large armchair he'd positioned in the corner of his room. From this position, he'd been able to keep watch over the door to his chamber as well as the form of the currently unconscious woman lying in his bed. However, the early morning sun was beginning to creep in through the small gap in the heavy curtains at the window and The Master was starting to feel the heavy pull of sleep.

His eyes fluttered open again as he sighed. There would be no chance of sleep tonight, not when every time he closed his eyes he was plagued by the sight of Rassilon squeezing Hally by the neck, holding her up like a rag doll. The Master had been able to hear her screams from two floors below the Chamber of the High Council. His nostrils flared slightly at the thought.

Bringing her back to his room had seemed like the easiest solution at the time. Giving The Master the opportunity he needed to address the High Council and persuade them that the girl was innocent. He cracked his knuckles gently against his palm, considering his next moves. She would be safer out of sight for a little while, at least until the initial commotion had died down and The President had returned his attention back to the more pressing political issues that were currently at hand.

A soft whimper from his bed caught The Master's attention, anger bloomed in his chest spreading deep into his lower abdomen. The very idea that the Council, that Rassilon had dared to touch her sent a heavy feeling of rage washing over him.

He clenched his jaw tightly. " _This is Theta's doing."_ He growled internally, clutching the arm of the chair so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His eyes flickered back over towards the sleeping form underneath his dark sheets. He couldn't see her face from where he was sat, however, he imagined that the girl looked beautifully at peace in her sleep.

A look of childish confusion flickered onto The Master's face. _"What?!"_ He thought and banished the strange thought from his mind. Whilst he might be pleased that the girl wasn't dead and her secret was still only his to control he certainly wasn't _concerned_ about her. He scowled to himself irritably, he had witnessed even earlier that day that she was not helpless in the face of danger.

The Master was quite relieved when he was brought out of his conflicting musings by her small voice.

"I think I'm going to be sick…" She'd muttered. The Master had swiftly risen from his seat out of concern for his upholstery, alerting the girl to his presence.

He had watched as her face had fallen into a look of sad acceptance as he'd explained to her that The Doctor was gone. He watched as she licked her lips slowly, her eyes drifting down to her lap.

"You will remain here for the week." He snapped, disapproval lacing his words.

Hally looked back up at him, startled by his sudden change of tone. "Here?" She questioned meekly, she didn't have the energy to start a fight with him but the idea of being stuck in The Master's chamber made her want to crawl under a rock.

The Master didn't feel the need to further explain his actions to her, instead he bent over and swiftly removed his shoes. Running both hands through his hair, he shifted himself up onto the bed, lying down on the now unoccupied side of the bed. He closed his eyes, missing the scandalised look Hally was now giving him.

"What are you doing?" She asked after a few moments of silence.

The Master sighed dramatically. "What does it look like I'm doing little dove?"

Hally narrowed her eyes at his use of the unappreciated pet name. "You can't sleep there."

A dangerous smirk pulled at the corner of The Master's lips, his eyebrow raising suggestively. "Can't I?"

Hally squirmed slightly and despite his eyes being closed, she felt the need to pull the sheets further around her shoulders. "I just meant… where am I supposed to sleep now? If you're confining me to your room. I can't sleep with yo-…" She was cut off by the short bark of laughter that escaped The Master's lips.

"I've assumed that you're many things but never a prude." His smirk widened into a toothy smile.

Hally scowled darkly, shooting him a nasty glare before scrambling off the bed. The Master rested a hand behind his head, letting out a long breath as he allowed himself to relax.

Instead of stamping her foot like a petulant child like she wanted to do, Hally huffed softly and decided to leave The Master to rest. He had after all, most likely saved her life.

Hally found herself quietly making her way around the rather large bedroom, it was fairly simple although that didn't surprise her, The Master didn't seem the one for extravagance. Despite its initial dark and cold appearances, the room felt quite cosy and welcoming. Although Hally wanted to start roaming through the countless books The Master had neatly stacked on his shelves she instead made her way through the dark wooden door at the back of the room into what she correctly assumed was the bathroom.

Shutting the door behind her, Hally drew herself a warm bath. Her head was still pounding, and her body felt as if someone had put her through a blender. The idea of soaking herself in warm water and washing the grime out of her hair was too good to pass up, despite the total ridiculousness of the situation.

As the warm water filled the dark marble tub, Hally stood and gingerly pulled her robes and shirt over her head. Slipping her slacks off she stepped into the tub and lay back into the welcoming water. She let out a small noise of contentment as she allowed her battered muscles to ease into the water. Not even thoughts of the exasperating man sleeping in the next room could bother her as she closed her eyes and a sweeping feeling of calm engulfed her.

Only when the water cooled to a temperature that started to bite coldly at Hally's skin did she sit up and finish washing her hair, exiting the tub and drying herself on one of the clean towels The Master had stowed away in his bathroom closet. Gently towelling her hair Hally searched the small bathroom for a spare robe she could wear, not wanting to have to get back into her scratchy academy robes. She sighed softly when the only item of clothing she found was The Master's night robe. Swallowing her distaste, she took the robe down from the back of the bathroom door holding it up to the light, the musky smell of The Master wafting into her face as she did so.

"Why is everything silk…?" She made a face at the garment but none the less pulled the robe over her shoulders, tying it loosely at her waist. Hally gently twisted her damp hair into a messy bun atop her head and slowly slipped back into the bedroom. She could hear The Master's steady breathing coming from the bed, a calmness surrounded him that assured Hally that he was definitely asleep.

Finally, she made her way over to the dark wooden bookcase that had initially captured her attention, lazily trailing her fingertips over the pristine volumes of The Master's collection of rare and expensive books. Hally licked her lower lip thoughtfully, pausing in front of a small blood orange leather-bound book that was nestled neatly in between two large first editions of _The Art of Paradox Equations_ and _Advanced Interstellar Trajectory Vectors, Volume II._ Quietly, Hally pulled the slightly out of place book from the shelf, turning it over in her hands curiously. The dark orange leather was worn, the edges of the book fraying slightly. It certainly hadn't been kept in the pristine condition that all the other books on the shelf appeared to be in. She gently opened the cover of the book, someone had scrawled a short note in golden ink on the first page.

_Koschei,_

' _To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.'_

_Yours,_

_Theta_

Hally frowned, gently brushing the faded handwriting with her thumb. She was aware that her father and The Master had been friends long ago, despite their apparent inconceivable differences. She couldn't help the spark of curiosity as she found herself flicking through the rest of the book, it appeared to be a work of Earth literature. Her father had supposedly always been intrigued by the small planet and its inhabitants. She flicked back to the front page again, rereading the note.

"Koschei." She whispered softly to herself.

_It suits him._

Hally gently pushed the book back onto the shelf, wincing as her head continued to throb angrily. She turned and looked longingly back at the bed she'd been occupying; her eyelids had begun to feel heavy and the urge to collapse back into the warm sheets was a strong one. She narrowed her eyes at the sleeping form of The Master, mentally berating his impropriety. Never the less she made her way slowly over to the bed and, ensuring that the robe was pulled tightly around her, settled herself down on the very edge of the bed, silently wrapping a small portion of the top sheet over her body. Hally fell into a comfortable slumber almost instantly, her body still exhausted from the day's events. Her fatigued mind slowly unravelled as she slept, wandering into a lazy dreaming state.

* * *

_Hally found herself stood at the doorway of the old observatory. Although something felt very unfamiliar about the place and she noticed that the room was shrouded in an unnatural red light which cast sinister-looking shadows on the silver walls. Hally looked up at the glass dome ceiling, spotting her slightly distorted reflection in the roof above. That was when she noticed the reflection of another presence in the room, undistinguishable in glass image, Hally turned her attention back to the room. Dark shadows danced around her eyes, obscuring her vision slightly, however, there was no doubt that the other figure was The Master. Hally could feel him._

_The Master's face seemed to come into focus and the violent shadows slowed their dance. Hally found herself drawn to him and soon enough they were stood a mere inch from each other. The room suddenly seemed to be spinning around the pair and Hally grasped onto The Master for support, he wrapped his arms around her holding her tightly to him. In that moment Hally knew she would be truly safe and as she looked up to The Master's face the room jolted to an abrupt stop. An eerie stillness settled, and it felt like all the air in the room had been sucked out. Hally leant forward slightly, her nose brushing against The Master's cool cheek. In the next moment, Hally had pressed her lips to his, a feeling of triumph burned through her as she felt his grip on her tighten. He began to kiss her back passionately, a low growl escaping his throat._

_The scene surrounding the two slowly shifted and suddenly both were standing in the centre of a beautiful green garden, a soft breeze ruffling Hally's hair. Not that either noticed as The Master bit possessively into Hally's lower lip when she deepened the kiss._

* * *

Hally's eyes snapped open as she was jolted awake, her face flushing furiously as the remnants of the dream drifted out of the forefront of her mind. Twisting on the bed she peered over her shoulder and was momentarily relieved to find the bed empty. She propped herself up on her elbows, pushing a few stray strands of hair away from her eyes. That was when she noticed that The Master had returned to sitting in his large armchair in the corner of the room. His eyes were fixed on the door and his face appeared to be screwed up in concentration.

"Is everything alright?" Hally asked, surprised at how breathless she sounded.

The Master was quiet for a few moments and Hally began to wonder if he'd even heard her.

"The barriers around your mind are weak." His jaw clenched slightly.

"You were projecting."

The Master's words took a moment to sink in but as they did Hally's eyes widened and she awkwardly rose off the bed in shock. "Wha-?"

She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to find what words to say but none came.

"I-… I should go." She breathed hurriedly, making her way towards the door, being careful to avoid The Master's chair. She grabbed the door handle but before she could make a swift exit, a heavy hand came down on the wood with a loud thud, holding it firmly in place. Hally spun around, her hand still resting behind her on the handle. She was met with The Master's furious gaze.

"Are you out of your mind?!" He growled, his hand still pressed against the door. "You'd be putting yourself in unnecessary danger. Have you learnt nothing after today?!" He was seething, his face was pulled into a furious grimace and his eyes were set angrily on hers.

Hally swallowed nervously, taking her hand off the handle behind her. She wanted to apologise but instead, the pair fell into silence. Rage rolled off The Master in waves as he stared at her for a few moments. The room was deathly silent and The Master felt like all the air was slowly being sucked out of his lungs.

"Move!" When Hally didn't The Master brushed her aside with his arm, opening the door. He paused in the doorway and his breathing slowed slightly.

"I'm getting some food. Get some sleep." He grunted before slamming the door behind him.

Hally heard the lock click loudly as he locked her in and listened as his footsteps echoed down the hallway.


	11. Part 1 - Chapter 11

It'd been almost three months since Hally had been dramatically escorted from the academy library, the events that had followed had been kept a complete secret by all involved and once The Master had, after a week of extreme tension, finally released Hally from his room, Hally's life had fallen very quickly into its usual routine.

The Doctor had seemingly completely disappeared and to her surprise the Gallifreyan Council had refrained from questioning her again. The only real change that had happened in the past month was that Persca and Lenden were now dating.

It was awful and Hally was seriously starting to lose patience with their sickeningly sweet romantic exchanges between classes. It was a luxury to even get Persca to herself for more than five minutes before the lanky blonde somehow managed to find them. Hally was certain that he'd put some sort of tracker on her, it just wasn't possible to keep 'accidentally' running into one another as often as they did.

"I've lost you haven't I?" Persca's unimpressed tone caught Hally's attention and she coughed awkwardly, looking back to her friend.

"No?" She smiled sheepishly, "You were just saying how you're spending way too much time with your boyfriend and I can't help but agree…" Her smile grew wider at the exasperated sigh that Persca expelled. They were both sitting underneath their usual tree outside the academy. Hally had her back up against the rough trunk, her knees tucked in to her chest. Persca was sat, thankfully without her lapdog, cross legged opposite her.

"You're one to talk." Persca quipped, rolling her eyes. "You literally disappeared for a week with Mr Creepy and don't think I don't know what you two were up to…" She said, flicking her eyes up and down Hally's body.

Hally scrunched up her face and didn't even try to stop the undignified noise that escaped her throat. "Blurgh!" She ran both her hands up her face and through her hair as she leant back against the tree. Persca raised an eyebrow at her, obviously expecting some sort of insight into her week long disappearance three months ago.

"I told you! They were questioning me about my father. It had nothing to do with The Master." Hally shrugged, pouting slightly.

Persca nodded patronisingly, "Mmhmm, of course."

Hally spotted the unmistakable blonde mop of Lenden approaching them from across the grounds, she made a face and motioned to Persca. "Watch out, your stalker's coming."

Persca looked over her shoulder and waved Lenden over to them happily, she turned back to Hally and pointed an accusatory finger at her face. "This isn't over…"

Hally just gave her a sickeningly sweet smile in return, a look that clearly said, _yes it is._

As Lenden plopped himself down next to Persca and the pair proceeded in petting one another incessantly Hally's gaze drifted up towards the top of the academy, she could see the roof of the old observatory glinting in the bright afternoon sunlight. She would be meeting The Master tomorrow evening for their usual lesson. They had also slipped back into their usual routine despite The Master having spent most of the time she'd been stuck in his room either trying to irritate her or simply ignore her. Hally had gotten so bored that she'd eventually had to find her own sources of entertainment which had started with rearranging The Master's bookcase into non-alphabetical order, eating all of the food in his room and wearing as many of his clothes as physically possible. On day four The Master had gotten so frustrated when he couldn't find a clean shirt that he'd cornered Hally up against the bookcase.

Her back had hit the shelf and she'd gasped when The Master had pulled irritably at the collar of the shirt she'd been wearing. The top of the shirt had ripped open and the two of them had paused in shock. He'd hovered in front of her face breathing heavily, the intense silent tension stretching for a long few minutes before The Master had pushed himself away, slamming the door to the room as he'd left.

It was then that Hally had realised that the strange tension that had been growing between the two wasn't something that she'd just created in her head. It was obviously affecting him too. The Master wasn't the kind of person to run away from anything, so the fact that he had slammed the door in her face twice now must have been because he was somehow also being affected.

She smirked to herself as she watched Persca pull Lenden into a clumsy kiss. It was comforting to think that she had even a slither of power over The Master, that she made him uncomfortable in some way.

_About time…_

The severely inhibited part of her brain that wanted to push The Master against the wall and kiss him was also doing cartwheels at the possibility that he wanted to kiss her back.

She shook her head and made a small noise of disgust as Persca pulled away from Lenden, giggling stupidly.

"You're both disgusting." Hally muttered, turning her nose up at them.

"Mmmfph." Lenden looked up from Persca and he frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'd totally forgotten why I came over here…" He began, looking apologetically to Persca. He turned his gaze towards Hally apprehensively, "They've arrested him, The Doctor. He's to be put on public trial immediately."

Hally's nostrils flared and Persca got to her feet in an instant. "When did they announce this? No doubt they'll be rushing it through to try and stop any real defence!" She turned to rush back towards the academy when she seemed to notice that Hally hadn't moved.

"Hal?" Hally looked up at her friend, sighing softly as she got to her feet.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Hally let Persca and Lenden lead the way to the arena, as they got closer more and more students of the academy and residents in the Citadel joined them and soon there was quite a large crowd headed out to the arena at the foot of the mountain.

Hally gently took hold of Persca's robe as the crowd got heavier, trying not to lose her friend. She could hear her talking in a hushed tone to Lenden.

"I don't think they're telling us everything about this war… I mean why would they need to start drafting extra soldiers like your father if it was going as well as they keep telling us?" She was whispering. Hally frowned and was going to ask her what she was talking about when the trio finally made it out of the crowded dark tunnel and into the vast arena.

Despite the sheer amount of Time Lords all huddled together inside the arena it was relatively quiet and as Persca slipped through further to the front, pulling Lenden and Hally along behind her, Hally was able to see why.

The entire Gallifreyan Council were stood at the far end of the arena, elevated on a grand platform. All of them, including The Master were stood in large semicircle that arched up high over a shimmering silver dome beneath. From where they were currently stood Hally could just about make out the figure of her father inside the dome.

To the left of the dome there was another platform of solid gold, atop that was a wide sort of podium and behind it stood Rassilon. He addressed the crowd of the arena, adorned in his full ceremonial robes and crescent shaped shoulder piece.

"… his crimes are unforgivable and must be punished without mercy! He has committed treason!" A murmur rippled through the crowd and Persca shot Hally a worried look. The punishment of treason was death and it certainly wasn't looking all too hopeful for The Doctor.

Hally bit her lip and she slowly pushed herself further forward, slipping through the small gaps in the crowd until she was only a few rows from the front. Perhaps there was something she could do? She didn't necessarily like The Doctor but he didn't deserve to die. She looked around, taking in her surroundings. Perhaps a large enough distraction would allow The Doctor to escape?

As if in response to her train of thought she locked eyes with The Master who was stood on the archway with the rest of the Council. He narrowed his eyes at her intensely and Hally was sure she saw him twitch his head from side to side in a definitive _no._

She looked back towards The Doctor, Rassilon was again addressing the crowd, his voice booming over their heads. She subtly held out her hand at the height of her waist, turning her palm up to face the sky. The arena was huge and the large platform where Rassilon, The Doctor and the Council currently stood was being held up by four thick stone pillars, the two back pillars extended up behind the platform and up towards the top of the arena.

_Perhaps if one were to fall…?_

Just as Hally began to concentrate on one of the heavy stone columns a dense hush came over the crowd and Rassilon went quiet. Hally frowned as she lost concentration and turned around to look over her shoulder at the entrance of the arena along with everyone else around her. She strained up onto her tiptoes to try and see what everyone was looking at but whatever it was, it was too far away. She looked at Persca questioningly but her friend just shrugged her shoulders. Hally continued to strain even as the crowd started to move, they were parting, allowing someone to walk from the entrance to the arena towards the stage. Hally, Persca and Lenden were pushed back as the crowd split, creating a walkway.

"Holy shit! It's Abstrax!" Persca whispered to them as Hally began to be able to make out a large entourage of beings adorned in the most beautiful blue colours making their way towards the platform.

"Huh?" She whispered back to Persca, distracted by the people that were coming into view. They were all very tall, at least 6 foot, they had a delicately elvish appearance to them but they were all so beautiful. Not one of them looked remotely similar to another despite their uniform colour, each had their own unique hair colour and style and the most wonderful skin. Like shimmering diamonds of varying colours, there were deep greens and burning oranges. Hally's mouth dropped open in amazement.

"What do you actually do in class?" Lenden muttered, Persca rolled her eyes and grabbed Hally's hand, snapping her out of her trance.

"King Abstrax, of An Garradh!" Hally's eyes widened.

"Oh! I thought he wasn't due for months?" She frowned, looking back up at the platform and at Rassilon. His face was schooled into a dark stony expression. Hally wasn't sure where this was going but The President didn't seem to be as self-assured as he was just a few seconds before.

"Something tells me this isn't a social visit…" Hally heard Persca mutter and she turned back to the sea of blue.

Once they'd reached the foot of the platform the mass of blue stopped and a lone figure ascended up the steps. The King gave a short bow of his head in Rassilon's direction before he turned to face the intrigued crowd. He had an older, kind face and a long sloping nose which sat between his bright shimmering blue eyes. His jawline was outlined by a well-groomed stubble, he smiled warmly down at the crowd.

"I apologise for our unannounced visit Lord President. However, I would be grateful if you would allow me to speak." The pair both fell silent and Hally watched as both the King and The President stared at each other intensely. It was barely visible but Hally saw Rassilon twitch his head down in approval. The King turned back towards the crowd and held his arms out in a welcoming gesture.

"My friends, please, I thank you for your attention. It is my honour to be able to be here before you today. The Kingdom of An Garradh and the great peoples of Gallifrey have for centuries been at the brink of a flourishing partnership, I and my people have only the highest respect and love for all of you." He smiled and bowed his head slightly.

"I hope that in the future we will only strengthen our bond and in doing so ensure both our great civilisations thrive for millennia to come." The King turned to Rassilon, shooting him a small smile.

"I also hope you will listen to an old man when he implores you to reconsider this trial. This man is no traitor of Gallifrey. I know of him and owe him a great debt. He is loyal and has shown true bravery. He saved a constellation of my people and for that, I shall be eternally grateful." Hally's eyes widened as she looked over towards her father, his face was sombre and he seemed to be avoiding the King's gaze.

Rassilon coughed over a scoff and straightened up, "Sir, of course, the people of Gallifrey welcome you, the great and noble King of An Garradh. However, this man has committed treason of the highest order against his President and his people. Your politics and personal debts have no jurisdiction here. He shall be tried for treason." He smirked slightly and Hally bit her lip as the King let out a soft sigh, visibly deflated.

"I am afraid you cannot possibly execute him. I know as President of Gallifrey you must respect the laws of time and the laws that ascertain to a fixed point. Even the great Gallifreyan President must abide by such rules." The King's friendly smile had dropped from his face and his voice was now laced with venom. Rassilon frowned, taken aback by the sudden change in the King and the heavy consequences of his words.

"Of course, it is the sacred duty of a _Time Lord._ We protect time." Rassilon narrowed his eyes, daring the King to continue.

The King abandoned the crowd and turned fully towards the Gallifreyan President, his voice was slightly muffled but from her position near the front Hally could just about hear the conversation that followed. "The early death of this man would irreversibly alter events which must not be interfered with due to the convergence of such a fixed point."

"What are you talking about?" Rassilon spat back, anger burning behind his eyes. Hally looked back over towards The Doctor and was surprised to find him watching her, as their eyes met he looked away a flicker of pain on his face.

"The future of the monarchy of An Garradh. It is a fixed point in time and you are putting it in danger." The King responded quietly, all formality dropping from his tone.

"Yes, what do you speak of, what has the Doctor got to do with this point?" Rassilon growled back, taking a step forward towards the King threateningly.

"I'm afraid it might not be the best time…" Abstrax countered, shaking his head in a silent warning to The President.

"I demand you explain yourself. Only once I have heard the full truth may I even consider your plight." Rassilon sneered, assuming that he had bested the King.

Abstrax turned slightly towards his people, the mass of blue fabric began to move and the crowd had to follow. Hally tried to grab for Persca's hand but within seconds she found that she'd be separated from them, she struggled, trying to push back against the moving crowd who were slowly edging her backwards.

"I'm sorry…" Hally turned back at the sound of the King's soft apology.

It was at that moment that Hally realised that she'd been manoeuvred out of the crowd and was now stood, alone at the foot of the stairs to the platform, behind her the King's men stood expectantly. The King was looking directly at her, a ghost of an apology still on his face.

The seconds seemed to drag on as Hally stood silently watching the King, her mind was racing with a hundred different ways she was going to try and get out of this one.

Abstrax smiled sympathetically down at her and slowly extended out his hand towards her. Hally looked at his outstretched hand, flicking her eyes behind the King to Rassilon. His face was contorted in fury and he looked like he might at any moment order the execution of them all.

_Oh, but he can't…_

A wonderful thought passed across her mind. This was the King of An Garradh, it would be almost impossible for Rassilon to make a move against him. Especially with the current precarious position that Gallifrey was apparently in with the pressures of war closing in around them. Hally wasn't sure if it was a sudden realisation that she had some level of power in this situation or the comforting presence of two of the King's guards who were now flanking her protectively but Hally managed to lift her chin and look The President directly in the eyes.

"Lord President, as the King has mentioned, this trial appears to go beyond all of us. It is the laws of time at stake here and as a benevolent leader… I know you will always choose your duty to time over any… personal quandaries."

Rassilon made to step forward, his right hand twitching angrily but Hally cut him off, shooting him a warning look. "In these _uncertain_ and _conflicted_ times… I think it would be best suited for Gallifrey to not make any more enemies."

She paused, raising her eyebrow slowly.

Rassilon closed his mouth slowly, he was glaring furiously at her but she could see that what she was saying was slowly landing. He remained silent for what felt like hours.

"Release him." The order was so quiet that had the arena not been so silent both the King and Hally would have missed it. Hally's mouth dropped open in disbelief, in all of the hurried scenarios that she'd played out in her head she'd never actually imagined this one working.

The King flashed Hally a small smile before turning back to Rassilon. "I shall forever be grateful high President. You truly are the leader Gallifrey needs."

Rassilon schooled his expression and with a withering glare to The Doctor he turned dramatically on his heal and swiftly left the stage. As soon as he did the shimmering dome encapsulating The Doctor disappeared and he stepped free, looking just as bewildered as Hally felt. He shot her a look of recognition before turning and removing himself from the stage as quickly as possible. Hally figured it would probably be for the best, she doubted that Rassilon would be planning on simply letting him walk free.

The feeling of a cool hand on her shoulder brought Hally's attention back to The King in front of her. He gave her a warm, knowing smile and leaning in he whispered softly in her ear. "I am happy to see that the kingdom of An Garradh will be in safe hands once I am gone." With that, he pulled back and began to retreat back out of the arena from where they had entered.

Hally could feel the eyes of the crowd turning to stare at her. Figuring that she couldn't count on the ground opening up and swallowing her whole, she made a move and pushed through the crowd to her right, scooting around the edge of the platform. She dodged around the bodies of the crowd and pushed her way to one of the side exits where she broke into a run.

Hally ran like she was running for her life. She ran in the hope that she could avoid all of the thoughts that were racing through her mind and dodge the consequences of whatever had just happened when she suddenly barrelled into something very solid. She would have ended up ungracefully sprawled across the floor if two firm hands hadn't steadied her by the arms.

Hally looked up, her breathing was shallow and coming out in short pants. It dawned on her that she was looking up into the twinkling eyes of her father.

"What are you doing…?" She managed to pant. "You need to get out of here." She pulled back and The Doctor's hands fell to his sides. He was looking at her like he'd never truly seen her before.

"I don't doubt it. Although I should think you are also in danger after that little episode." He frowned as he paused to consider her.

"Until we cross paths again my child." He nodded a fond glint in his eye.

Hally watched her father disappear around the corner when the sound of voices approaching from her left reminded her that she needed to get somewhere safe. She bolted forward again and kept running through the corridors of the lower academy, her footsteps echoing up and around the high walls. Her lungs were burning and her legs felt like jelly by the time she finally reached the door she'd been heading for. She wrenched it open, hurling herself inside. She pressed her back up against the door of The Master's room, closing her eyes.

_Shit._


	12. Part 1 - Chapter 12

Hally looked up and took in the familiar room as she tried to slow down her breathing. Her calves burned as she pushed herself away from the door towards the dark brown armchair that was angled towards the impressive bookcase. She sank down into the cool hug of the leather, leaning back and letting out the long breath she'd not realised she'd been holding.

She slowly replayed the events of the arena over in her mind. The Doctor was free. She was apparently going to be a queen. Rassilon was going to murder her and…

_Where was The Master?_

Hally frowned and ran a hand through her hair, trying to think of what would be the next best course of action. She looked over towards the door warily, expecting Rassilon and his men to come bursting in to arrest her.

A thought crossed her mind as she scanned the spines of the large history book volumes lining the shelves. Would Rassilon really be able to arrest her now? Wasn't she protected, that's what the King had said, she was now protected by the fact that her eventual ascension to the monarchy on An Garradh was a fixed and therefore a protected point in time. So Rassilon couldn't kill her and it wouldn't benefit him to lock her away…

Hally lurched forward and up out of the chair as she grabbed a few of the heavy history volumes and lifted them onto The Master's desk. She flicked through the contents of a few of them before she found what she was looking for, a unit on the incomplete history of the legacy and monarchy of An Garradh. Hally heaved open the book to the page she needed and waved her hand behind her, pulling the armchair in towards her so she could sit. She grazed her fingertips over the page as she read, noting a few of the passages that might now be of use.

She'd had her head in the book for around 30 minutes when a particular passage caught her eye and upon reading it her blood ran cold.

"… _King Abstrax I – Straxation period. King Voleane Abstrax ascended the throne alongside his wife ~Queen~ Hertia Abstrax during the late 33_ _rd_ _cycle. The pair had been wed 18 years prior to the King's coronation making him only the second monarch to ascend to the throne already having chosen a counterpart."_

Hally's eyes widened as she reread the passage and a cool trickle of realisation ran down her back. Rassilon wasn't going to try and kill her…

The door to the bedroom finally burst open and The Master came speeding through it, looking extremely agitated. His eyes fell on her and she thought she saw a flicker of relief pass over his face before it was quickly replaced with annoyance.

"Where the hell have you been?!" He seethed, keeping his voice low. "I've been looking ALL over this bloody academy for you." He growled and advanced on her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her up and back towards the door. "We need to get you out of here tonight. You're not safe."

Hally yanked her arm back from his grip. "I'm not running away." She stood her ground defiantly. "I'm going to be staying right here and you're going to help me." Hally jutted her chin out slightly when The Master scoffed loudly. However, before he could challenge her further, Hally had grabbed his arm and had pulled him further into the room. He then watched, quite bewildered as she frantically dotted about the room, grabbing random items from his bedroom drawers and bookshelves.

"What do you think you're doing?" He jabbed, shooting her a withering glare.

Hally ignored his question and bundled a few items up in her arms. She finally strode over to stand in front of The Master, he was unnerved at the expectant look on her face.

"What?" He raised an eyebrow.

She sighed softly, "Surely a genius like you can work it out?" She cocked her head slightly to the left. "You've just come back from an emergency meeting with the Council, no? And after fantasizing about all the ways he could rid me of my body parts, Rassilon came up with the _brilliant_ plan of using me to his advantage. He's going to try and marry me himself so that he can secure his place of power within An Garradh as well as Gallifrey right?" The Master looked at her in surprise, however, he nodded his head slowly. Confirming Hally's theory.

"Right. Well. As I said. I'm not running." The Master raised an eyebrow, amused by her naivety. Hally almost laughed.

"I don't think you're quite following me." She finished, looking down pointedly at what she was carrying in her hands. The Master frowned and followed her gaze, she was holding a long black ribbon and a ceremonial handbook. The Master looked back up at her quickly, she couldn't tell if it was excitement or disbelief glinting within his wide eyes.

"Rassilon can't marry you if you're-"

"Already married. Yes. I'm glad you're catching up." She finished for him, before pulling him by the wrist out of his room. The Master let out a bark of laughter as she continued to pull him down the dimly lit corridor towards the staircase which would lead them down to the ground floor of the academy.

"…and you want me to what… officiate for you?" Hally could hear the self-assured smirk in The Master's voice.

"Don't be a bastard and make me ask." She snapped back, not looking at him as she hurtled them around the corner. She wasn't entirely sure where she was headed, but it felt like they needed to get out of the academy.

"Call me old fashioned." He countered, tugging her back suddenly, causing her trip over her foot and land on his chest. She scowled at him and looked around them nervously, expecting someone to jump up out of the shadows and find them. She turned back to him and crossed her arms over her chest. The Master was smiling smugly and Hally knew that he'd be quite happy to drag this out for as long as possible, so she sighed deeply and said through gritted teeth.

"Marry me."

The Master pouted thoughtfully, cocking his head to one side. "That didn't sound too much like a question."

"Urgh! You're unbelievable. I don't have to ask. I know the answer is yes. It _has_ to be yes. You'd never pass up a chance to be a _King_. Now get a move on." She shook her head in irritation and made to turn on her heel and continue the way they'd been headed.

"Wait." The Master interrupted, making Hally turn back to him. She raised her eyebrow impatiently.

"We will actually need a member of the Gallifreyan Council to officiate if the marriage is to be noted within the official documents." He said, his voice hushed. He motioned his head to the right. "Follow me. I have an idea of someone who can help." Without waiting for her reply The Master starting walking in the opposite direction, Hally had to jog to catch him up and fall into stride with him.

"Who?" She turned to face him, walking backwards. He rolled his eyes and motioned towards the staircase.

"Councillor Shay. He is reliably weak-willed and I have him in my pocket. So if you'd be so kind…" The Master motioned up the staircase and Hally narrowed her eyes at him but started to ascend none the less.

"Fine. I suppose that's not a terrible idea." The Master smirked and watched as she moved up the steps slightly ahead of him. They climbed to the fourth floor where the majority of the Councillor apartments were, The Master moved past Hally when they reached the floor, leading the way to Shay's apartment.

Hally quickly stepped up beside him, keeping up with his long strides. He snuck a glance to the side, admiring the way she was marching them down the hallway, he could see the enticing flames that were dancing behind her eyes and it excited him. She looked so incredibly fierce, strong and determined. The dim golden light outlining the angles of her face into that of a fierce warrior. The Master tucked the picture away into his memory, promising himself to remember how alluring she was in this riled state.

He smirked to himself, wondering how far he'd be able to push her. "You know, we can't just marry and hope that that'll be enough. Rassilon could just as easily have me killed. We're going to have to do this properly. Tonight."

He grinned triumphantly as he saw her clench her fists. "Yes, yes." She waved a hand dismissively. "I'd really appreciate it if you could stop thinking so many steps ahead. Can we just get past step one first and then you can onto that."

He chuckled softly. "It's not really something we can ignore dear. The bond of two Time Lords is a ceremony in itself. Not something you should be entering into lightly." He raised an eyebrow, she huffed loudly and stopped, turning on him.

"Look. If you don't want to do this then say so and I'll disappear. Problem solved." She'd folded her arms across her chest.

He shook his head, chuckling. "That's not what I meant and you know it." He cocked his head to one side and her stance faltered. For a moment his face softened and he looked at her sincerely. "If we do this you're going to be bonded to me forever. I will become a part of you and you will become a part of me. I'll always be in here." He slowly moved forward and touched his fingertips to her temple. Hally felt his familiar presence in the corner of her mind, the comforting sound of the drums seeping from his mind and into hers.

A moment of quiet passed between them both, an unsaid admission of intimacy on both parts.

"That doesn't sound too bad." Hally muttered quietly with a small smile.

"Good. Because we're here. Stay outside, I won't be a moment." The Master grinned and turned to the door behind him, he tried the door handle but found the door locked. He shot Hally a look over his shoulder. She rolled her eyes and concentrated on the lock, they both heard it click and The Master pushed open the door.

"Thank you, my dear." He shut the door slowly behind him, shooting her a wink.

Hally rolled her eyes and leant against the wall as she crossed her arms over her chest. She kept a close eye on the hallway, trying to think up a few good excuses for her being there should someone come along. It was only three minutes later that The Master emerged from the room, Councillor Shay following behind him. The dark, long-haired Councillor didn't even close the door behind him and when Hally stared at him she realised that his face was totally vacant. She looked accusingly at The Master.

"What the hell have you done to him?" Her voice was laced with intrigue rather than accusation and The Master chuckled, simply raising an eyebrow back at her in reply.

"Wait… did you actually hypnotise him!? You CAN actually do that?!" Hally gaped and The Master laughed in confirmation, moving past her, leading Shay with him. She stood frozen for a moment before she turned and quickly caught up with him.

"Have you been hypnotising me…?" She looked at him with a deep frown. He just laughed loudly at her.

"No. You fell madly in love with me all on your own."

"Urgh!" She responded and quickened her pace, overtaking both him and Shay.

"Where are we going?" She heard from behind her.

"Outside, we're going to have to be outside to get to the top of the ridge at the foot of the mountain by midnight anyway. Plus it'll be almost pitch black outside now, I doubt anyone will be looking for us there." She led them back towards the staircase, jogging down it hurriedly.

"Well, it sounds like _someone's_ thought all of this through. Did you steal two rings from my room whilst you were at it?"

"Yep." She popped the 'P' as they continued to descend, thankfully The Master remained silent for the rest of the walk to the ground floor. Hally opened one of the two heavy doors which led out into the grounds and the three of them slipped through. Well, Councillor Shay had to awkwardly sidestep. Hally knew that she should be feeling sorry for him, she should be berating The Master for abusing his power over the poor man but at the present time, she was too anxious to care.

She led them along the outskirts of the academy walls, being sure to avoid anyone on patrol. She kept her senses heightened, sneaking them to the bottom of Mount Cadon. Hally looked up, she could see the ridge that her and The Master would need to climb to by midnight in order to perform the merge ceremony that night. They would hopefully be able to reach it within the hour once Shay had officiated the marriage.

"Right, here will do." She placed the bundle that she'd been carrying down on the ground. She picked up the ceremony book, the black ribbon and the two rings she'd stolen from The Master's room. She passed the book over to Councillor Shay who was staring vacantly off into the distance.

"Umm, here." He took it, giving her a small blank smile.

The Master watched Shay. "Well get on with it." He snapped at him. Shay opened up the book and took out a pen. He started scribbling in the book, he would be inserting the details of their marriage which would later be transferred into the marital archives of the library.

Hally held both of The Master's rings in her hands and took the time to have a look at what she'd actually picked up in her rush to get out of the room. In her right hand she held a thin silver band, small intricate vine-like designs laced their way around the entirety of the ring. In her left hand there was a slightly thicker golden band with what appeared to be black point diamonds encrusted along the outside. She held the silver ring up to her face, concentrating. The silver began to morph and it slowly shrunk to the size of Hally's finger. She handed the silver ring to The Master and held onto the golden one herself, they would swap the rings during the ceremony. The Master was watching her carefully and his burning gaze made her face flush hotly.

Finally, she held up the black ribbon and wrapped one end around her own hand, she held out the other end for The Master. He moved forward and wrapped it around his hand, he remained quiet for a few moments. Hally looked up into The Master's eyes, they were burning with something dangerous. The pair listened to the sound of Councillor Shay scratching away with his pen in the ceremonial book. Finally, he stopped and silence fell on the trio.

Shay awkwardly stepped up beside the bound pair, holding the book out in front of him.

"Are you ready?" The Master asked her, raising an eyebrow.

Hally nodded and turned to Shay. "Make it quick."

Shay nodded and cleared his throat, he held one of his hands over the ribbon which bound their hands.

"As Councillor of Gallifrey I stand witness to this union between the Time Lords known as The Master and Hally. This union shall be upheld by the laws and traditions of Gallifrey and shall from this day forth be honoured in the great archive." As he spoke, the ribbon wrapped around her and The Master's hand began to glow a warm golden colour. Shay nodded at The Master and the pair swapped rings silently on their non-bonded hands.

"Should you agree to pledge your life to the other, I invite you both to complete this marriage by sharing with one another, your first name." The ribbon continued to glow and Hally looked into The Master's eyes. As The Master looked back he must have found some evidence of nervousness because he took pity on her and leant forward, brushing his lips up against her ear. He whispered a single word in her ear, his breath tickling her neck.

As she heard the word she felt the ribbon around her hand tighten pleasantly, the skin underneath felt like it was burning. Hally leant forward slightly and encouraged by The Master's first move she whispered her name, the name she had been born with, in his ear. As she did she felt the ribbon give a final tug which bordered on painful. Hally looked down at their hands, the ribbon had dissolved completely and in its place was a very faint golden scar etched into their skin which was still radiating heat. As she watched the scar faded and disappeared into nothing, the heat slowly dissolving along with it.

The Master slowly lowered his hand, turning it over and examining it as he did so. He turned to Shay and said in a hushed tone. "Take this book straight to the archives, guard it with your life." He growled out the last part, shooting Shay a warning look. Shay nodded slowly and started walking hurriedly back towards the academy. Hally looked up, judging by the sky they had just 30 minutes to make it to the ridge before their window for completing the merge was over.

"We need to move." She whispered, The Master nodded and stepped out of the way, allowing her to lead the way.

Hally walked past him and began the climb up to the ridge, she wasn't sure if it was the sharp incline or the knowledge that she was now officially _married_ to The Master that was causing the incessant butterflies in her lower stomach. Perhaps it was what was still to come?

The pair mainly walked in silence, for which Hally found herself quite grateful, she wasn't sure she could deal with The Master's snide comments at this time. Her peace was fairly short-lived, however.

"So… Queen of The Garden hey?" Came his smug voice from behind her, she shot a glance over her shoulder sighing softly.

"Supposedly." She snapped back.

She heard him chuckle. "Someone's touchy. That was either very brave or very stupid speaking to Rassilon like that."

"Careful. That almost sounds like flattery." She sniped back.

"Almost." She saw him bend down out of the corner of her eye, she turned back to look at him and she saw what he was doing. He had come across some of the blue flowers that only grew on the mountain, the flowers which would be used as part of the bonding ceremony they were about to undertake. A ghost of a smile touched Hally's lips at the almost caring display. The Master straightened up and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you going to stand gawping all evening?" He drawled.

She huffed and turning on her heal carried on along the path towards the ridge.

Finally, the pair arrived at the spot and with only a few minutes to spare. Before she could consider how to proceed she felt a gentle tug on her hair, frowning slightly she turned her head to try and see what The Master was doing.

"Stay still, this is fiddly enough as it is." He huffed and continued his ministrations.

Hally realised that he must have been tangling the bright blue flowers into her hair. She was pleasantly surprised at how gentle the feeling was, his touch lightly tickling at her neck. Hally shivered.

A small jolt of panic fell through her when she felt his hands move from her hair to the top of her robe, intent on undoing it. She let out a small noise of protest and wriggled away from his grip automatically, turning on him.

"Stop being such a prude." He berated gently, stepping after her and turning her by the shoulders back to face away from him. He continued to undress her from behind.

"I'm not." She countered awkwardly, however, she remained still, resolved to letting him undress her.

She felt the robe drop to the floor, leaving her very exposed in only her underslip, Hally wrapped her arms around her chest turning back to face The Master. He was watching her expectantly, she bit her lip, suddenly feeling all too cold and vulnerable out in the open.

"I…" She started, failing to form a coherent sentence.

"Come on, I've seen a female body before, I promise yours is nothing special." He chuckled to himself lightly, raising his eyebrow.

Hally gritted her teeth, flushing angrily at his comment. She lifted her chin defiantly and pushed her slip off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor leaving her fully naked, lit only by the moon peeking through the scarce clouds.

The Master nodded and shrugged off his own clothes quickly, stepping out of his undergarments confidently. Hally gritted her teeth as she blushed, focusing very hard on keeping her eyes on his face. The Master didn't offer her the same kindness, instead roaming his eyes appreciatively down her body. She let out a disapproving sigh as she looked up at the sky. The moon was casting a strange blue hue on the ground, lighting the pair in an otherworldly glow.

"So…" His smirk widened into a smug smile. "How would you prefer to do this? We only need the smallest bit of physical contact for the merge to start. Obviously some Time Lords like to do things a little more intimately." He winks. "I for one-"

Hally suddenly pressed her lips softly to The Master's, shutting him up. As their lips met, it felt like the entire universe took a sharp intake of breath. The blue light of the moon bored down on Hally's face, somehow shielding her from the cool air of the night. She felt her mind ease and the gates open, there was a gorgeous moment of absolute stillness before she became aware of The Master's presence growing stronger and stronger. He was kissing her back now, his arms had snaked their way around her waist and he was pulling her tight to him. She could feel the rapid beating of his hearts against the front of her chest. His skin was hot on hers and somehow the heat of him was surrounding her, protecting her from the cool midnight air. Hally let him glide into her mind with ease, the drums rolling through into her thoughts. It was as if his entire being was open to her, she could feel every inch, every hidden corner of him. It was warm and enticing, she held him close and bathed in the feeling of their minds winding throughout each other. Images and thoughts that weren't her own flashed through her mind. She could see him, eight years old as he looked into the vortex. She felt his fear, his apprehension and then she felt the sound of drums wash over him. She felt how the sound sunk deep into The Master's veins, filling him with a deeper understanding and drive. The vision faded away and she watched as a more familiar image filled both their minds, she was watching herself, she could feel The Master watching the scene alongside her. As they watched a young Hally looked into the vortex quite alike The Master had done, but this time the feeling of fear was washed away by the overwhelming sensation of power. The feeling was so strong it felt like the eight-year old Time Lady was flying, soaring throughout the vortex. The feeling slowly faded from them both, she could feel him within the darkest corner of her being, he had consumed her and she, him. The feeling was so intense, being so connected with another that Hally could hardly distinguish where she ended and The Master began. Slowly the feeling began to sink down into her chest and the light ribbons of connection clicked into place as she felt The Master sit back on his heels, his lips pulling away from hers.

Hally opened her eyes, the smirk that she's expected to see wasn't there. The Master was looking at her in what could only be described as awe. There was nothing between them at that moment, no hiding, no shields or games. She was truly seeing him, open in front of her. And he was so beautiful.

She felt like she wanted the moment to continue forever but her mouth fell open, "Thank you." She whispered softly.

The Master frowned slightly in confusion.

"Thank you for helping me. Thank you for saving me from him…" Hally bit her lip as The Master's ocean blue eyes twinkled with what looked suspiciously like possessiveness.

"Did you really think I'd let anyone else touch you?"


	13. Part 1 - Chapter 13

Hally woke up in a bed which had grown to be more familiar than her own in the dormitory.

They'd both arrived back the Academy in the early hours of the morning, The Master had walked her back to his room. She'd surprised herself when there had been no urge to slink back to her own room. She'd rationalised that it'd probably be safer for them both to stick together, however, she had felt a strange sense of finality about the matter, like they'd shared a moment of silent agreement that that would be where she'd be sleeping from now on.

Hally lay awake, staring up at the blackness of the ceiling. The Master was sleeping beside her, she could hear his soft breathing in the silence of the night. It was a strange feeling, she could feel his presence in the back of her mind, hear the steady four beats of the drums in his mind, in their minds… At first, the idea of him being connected to her thoughts had scared her, she'd felt ashamed and embarrassed that he would be able to see all the deepest darkest crevices of her soul, but as night had crept on and sleep had continued to evade Hally, she had begun to find the feeling comforting. He was always there, he could hear her and she, him, there was no judgement and it felt amazing to be so personally entwined. Suddenly, with him lying on the other side of his queen-sized bed, he felt too far away?

It hadn't come as much of a surprise to her when she'd finally awoken, to find his arm wrapped protectively around her, her body curled in towards his own. She slowly eased herself out from his grip, smiling slightly to herself. She padded into the bathroom, changing into her clothes from the previous day.

Hally made a mental note to transfer more of her clothes into The Master's room, smirking to herself at the thought of The Master begrudgingly having to share his wardrobe space with her. She quickly tied up her hair and checked herself in the mirror. Shrugging with resignation at her weary appearance, she headed back into the room, grabbing her bag.

She knew it was stupid to grasp at the idea of things returning back to normal at the academy, however, Hally felt the need to go and have breakfast with Persca, as normal. Then head off to class, as normal. Rassilon be damned.

She wasn't naïve enough to expect the day to go so smoothly, but she figured she'd have to face reality sooner or later. It might as well be sooner.

"I trust you don't need me to shield you from Rassilon." Hally smirked and looked over to the figure who was now propped up on one elbow on the bed.

She flashed him a confident grin. "What can he do to me now?"

The Master chuckled softly at her confidence, running a hand through his messed up hair. "Be careful, _my Queen._ " He stressed her title mockingly, raising an eyebrow at her.

She shot him a playfully irritated look which changed into a predatory smile as she took a few steps closer to the bed. Hally relished the look of surprise on The Master's face as she bent down and left a lingering kiss just to the left of his mouth.

She smirked as she straightened up, turning on her heel and heading out of the room.

Hally bit her lip as she walked away from The Master's room and towards the breakfast hall, his scent still lingered about her and it took more focus than she'd predicted to ignore the mental image of her falling back into bed with The Master. She coughed awkwardly to herself.

_Nope. Not a good idea._

Hally entered into the hall, quickly finding Persca and sitting opposite her. Hally smiled sweetly.

"Hi."

Persca raised an eyebrow, looking shocked at her friend's calm appearance.

"Hi?! Seriously… Hi?! Where the hell have you been! We've been worried sick…" She whispered angrily at her.

Hally frowned. "We...?"

Persca waved her hand in dismissal. "Ok, just me. Still, where have you been? You pull a stunt like that, in front of basically _everyone_ and then you disappear and just waltz into breakfast in… wait. Those were the clothes you were wearing yesterday…" Persca's eyes narrowed. "Where did you sleep last night…?" Persca was giving Hally a dark scrutinizing look.

Hally opened her mouth to swiftly change the subject, it definitely wasn't a good idea to tell Persca everything right now. That would have to wait.

Persca, however, didn't let Hally even begin to explain. "Were you with him?! This is unbelievable. You can't be sleeping with him! He's dangerous and crazy and… do you have some kind of a death wish?!" Hally sighed loudly and reaching over the table, ungraciously shoved her hand over Persca's mouth.

"If you could just let me speak?" Persca glared at her silently.

"Thanks. No. I am NOT sleeping with him. I basically spent all of yesterday afternoon and night hiding from Rassilon. No, I don't have a death wish and before you ask… yes, it's looking like one day I'm going to end up being the queen of An Garradh." She slowly removed her hand from Persca's mouth, eyeing her intently.

Persca stared at her, slowly processing her words. "Right. Ok." Persca was still eyeing her suspiciously but before she could ask anything further, the doors to the hall burst open. Two streams of guards dressed in ceremonial red entered the room, splitting off to flank both sides of the room. After the guards, came a row of the High Chancellors and at the centre, Rassilon strode angrily into the hall. They marched all the way to the front, the Chancellors fanning out onto the slightly raised platform at the front, Rassilon taking centre stage.

Hally audibly groaned. "Oh, here we go." She rolled her eyes as four of Rassilon's personal guards stepped up behind where she was sat, roughly motioning for her to stand.

She did so, flashing Persca a small smile as she stood. One of the guards made to grab her upper arm but Hally shot him a dangerous scowl. "I think I can manage." She muttered darkly, striding up to the front of the room. Stopping just short of the platform.

"On your knees." Rassilon stared down at her, his hard gaze making her stomach squirm.

Hally clenched her fists hard, resisting the urge to blast Rassilon into hell, she slowly lowered herself onto her knees. She stared defiantly up at him, his mouth curled into a sickening smirk as he relished in her obedience.

Hally felt The Master's presence before she saw him, out of the corner of her eye, step slightly into view behind the line of Chancellors. She looked over and briefly caught his eye, he was watching Rassilon warily. When their eyes met he couldn't resist but send her a slightly smug smirk, no doubt enjoying her current subservient position.

Hally narrowed her eyes irritably at him as she felt a small blush creep up her neck. It was strange that The Master could wear the same expression on his face as Rassilon and yet she didn't want to rip his throat out. She turned her attention back to the pompous idiot in front of her. He summoned forward High Chancellor Yovan with an impatient wave of his hand. Yovan cleared his throat, stepping forward.

"Good morrow to you all. I am delighted to announce an exciting development that our gracious Lord President would like to share with you all." The Chancellor opened up his arms as he continued his address. "As many of you are aware, we were yesterday informed of a future monarch of the respectable conglomeration of An Garradh." He made an awkward nod in Hally's direction. She rolled her eyes.

"It is our Lord President's utmost priority to continue to develop and grow the relationship with the people of The Garden and so, he has taken upon himself the great responsibility of _King_ and will, this very afternoon, wed the future Queen."

A shocked silence momentarily fell over the room, Hally heard a few brave students shout out in confusion. She was even a little pleased to hear some cries of outrage at her complete lack of choice in the matter.

_This guy is the biggest egotistical prick I have EVER met._

Hally saw The Master cover up a chuckle out of the corner of her eye, she heard his smug voice in her mind. " _I don't know whether to be flattered or a little insulted that I've been replaced as 'top prick'."_

Hally tried to stifle the snigger that escaped from her mouth, but Rassilon noticed. His beady, angry eyes pinning her to the spot.

"What's so funny child? You will learn to respect your President!" He growled, only loud enough that a few of the Chancellor's head.

Hally let the snigger grow into a full-blown laugh. "I'm _so_ sorry." She mocked as she slowly got to her feet. "I can't possibly marry you." She shrugged nonchalantly.

It was Rassilon's turn to laugh. "My child, you have no choice. You shall bow to me as your President and as your husband."

Hally didn't even bother to hide the look of disgust that crossed her face, mouthing 'Ew' at the group of Chancellor's stood behind Rassilon. To her amusement and to Rassilon's rage, a few of them had to stifle laughs of their own.

"I'm afraid I won't be marrying you…" Hally relished the look of shock on The President's face. "Perhaps you need to be brought up to speed." She continued, feigning seriousness. "I would suggest a crosscheck of the records." She smiled sweetly to the Chancellor on their left who was currently holding the most recent book of the great archive.

Rassilon, however, ignored her and instead roughly grabbed at her neck. Wrapping his long, thin fingers tightly around her throat. Hally choked in surprise, grabbing at his hand.

"How dare you mock me, you insolent child!" He spat furiously, his nails digging painfully into her skin. Hally let out a strangled noise of protest, flashing impatient eyes at the Chancellor holding the archives. He suspiciously let the book fall open in his hands, skimming through the most recent pages. Hally would have let out a noise of victory when his face paled instantly, however, Rassilon was currently cutting off all air and blood to her head so all she could manage was an enthused hand wave in his direction.

The Master stepped forward into Rassilon's view. His face was void of any emotion but Hally could see the fury burning behind his eyes. "My Lord President. I suggest you take your hands off her." Rassilon snapped his head to glare at The Master, but before he could cry out in anger The Master continued calmly. "I don't think it'd be in Gallifrey's best interest to choke the future Queen of The Garden to death in front of all her classmates." The Master's tone was sincere, but Hally could hear the sarcasm that laced his words.

Rassilon released her, brushing down his robes as if nothing had happened. He turned to the Chancellor holding the archive. "Well?"

Hally smirked slightly. "Shall you tell him or shall I?" She managed to croak out, she shot Rassilon a look of hatred as her throat burned painfully. The Chancellor spluttered, any remaining blood draining from his face.

"Um… my Lord President. It would seem… well- that a union has already been formed." He swallowed, shrinking away from the terrifying man in front of him.

Rassilon was silent for a few moments, his rage silently racing behind his eyes.

"Have them brought here at once! They shall be executed for this treason." He spat venomously, his voice breaking into a growl.

The Chancellor looked slowly over towards The Master who was now stood behind Rassilon. He plastered a charming smile on his face.

The Chancellor let out a short breath. "A Time Lord Bond has been undertaken, I'm afraid the union is permanent." He winced when Rassilon snatched the archive book out of his hands. His upper lip curled into a snarl as he glared daggers at The Master.

"We'll see about that." He shot Hally a threatening look before sweeping down off the platform and out of the hall. His entourage followed awkwardly, their heads down and pale like a chidden train.

Hally shot The Master a smirk, he winked unapologetically back at her before stepping down off the platform and slinking out of the back door. Hally tried to ignore the fact that everyone in the room was now staring at her. One of the tables at the back of the room burst into a round of applause, she laughed, throwing them a salute as she weaved her way back to Persca.

She let out a soft sigh as she plonked herself back down next to her friend but frowned when she saw her friend's expression. Persca looked horrified and angry. Really angry.

Hally tried to reach out to her but Persca slapped her hand away harshly. "No! Don't you dare." Persca cried out, obviously not caring that they were still surrounded by people. Hally tried to cut in to speak but Persca stood up quickly. "I can't believe you. You lied!" She added furiously.

"I didn't have a choice!" Hally spluttered out desperately, rising to her feet as well, trying to keep her voice hushed. Not that there was much point, a small crowd of people were now intently watching the exchange.

Persca laughed spitefully. "Oh of course. I'm sure you keep telling yourself that! Because the truth is that that man has manipulated you into becoming his perfect little _pet_!" Hally took a step back in surprise.

"What?!"

"You heard me! All it took was a few months of attention from him and he's got you wrapped around his little finger like some kind of pathetic hussy."

Hally cried out in disbelief. "You have no idea what you're talking about?! Rassilon was going to MARRY ME if I didn't do something?! I didn't see you or anyone else here rushing to help me after what happened yesterday!" She shouted back.

Persca scoffed. "Of course not! The only person who understands you is _The Master_!" She laughed sarcastically. "You're pathetic." She shook her head and stormed off out of the hall, leaving Hally stood alone in the middle of the circle of onlookers.

Hally's mouth fell open in shock, she stood silently for a few seconds before pulling herself together and swiftly exiting through the door The Master had escaped through a few minutes before.

* * *

Hally stormed through the doors of The Master's bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Her skin was flush and she hadn't noticed the tears that had started to streak down her face.

The Master appeared at the door to the bathroom, frowning at the sudden noise. Upon seeing him Hally turned away, not wanting him to make a mocking comment for her current state.

"Don't… just don't." She muttered, irritably wiping the tears from her cheeks.

She jumped slightly when she felt his hands come to rest gently on her shoulders, she hadn't even heard him cross the room. He slowly but deliberately turned her around to face him, she tried to hide her face by staring down at the floor but one of his hands cupped her chin and firmly lifted her head up so he could see into her eyes. He searched them for a moment and Hally flushed at the knowledge that he was examining her memories of what just happened.

She tried to turn her head away but he held her still sternly. The hand that wasn't at her chin came up and brushed away her tears. His eyes never left hers and Hally felt her stomach squirm pleasantly at the intense look he was giving her. Keeping his hand under her jaw, The Master leant in slowly, pressing a firm kiss on her mouth.

Hally let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. The Master took the opportunity and slipped his tongue into her mouth. Hally let out a quiet noise of pleasant surprise as she kissed him back. He was moving slowly and deliberately but Hally could feel him holding back, she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck instinctively, losing herself to the movements of his lips and tongue as he kissed her.

_Fuck, he's good at this…_

Hally felt The Master smirk against her lips, her cheeks burned red and she pulled away slightly in embarrassment. The Master pulled her back into him roughly, a low growl escaping his throat. Hally felt her back hit the bookcase behind her and instantly The Master's hands had moved to the back of her thighs. Hally let out a gasp as he forcefully pulled her legs out from under her, shifting so his chest was now pressed up against her. His body keeping her still.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, her head hitting the book behind her as she pulled away for breath. His eyes were piercing into hers, the predatory look he was giving her sent pleasurable shivers down her legs. The heat that was radiating from him felt like it was opening up her senses, she could feel everything. His firm grip on the back of her legs, his hearts hammering against her chest, his warm breath on her face. She closed her eyes as he dipped his head and began to nip playfully at her neck. He bit down a little harder on the soft skin of her neck, pressing a chaste kiss over the top of the reddened skin as Hally let out a gasp of surprise. The feel of him so close to her was enticing, she wanted to feel this forever. He was her obsession, and she, his. In that moment she felt so unbelievably powerful that this man, this insane, unpredictable man was slowly losing all control as he kissed at her neck.

One of his hands was now digging painfully into her thigh, but Hally didn't mind. The other had snaked its way up her robe and was pressing into her waist. He was everywhere, he was all over her body and inside her mind. It felt fantastic.

The door to the room was once again flung open and six guards dressed in Gallifreyan military uniform marched their way into the room. Hally gasped and tried to move from the precarious position she was currently in but The Master held her still. He looked calmly over to the uniformed men, his face suddenly schooled into a look of cold indifference.

"Gentlemen?" He asked in a flat voice. Hally squirmed uncomfortably, very aware that both The Master's hands were very obviously in extremely inappropriate places considering they were now _not_ alone. "I'm in the middle of something that requires my undivided attention. Perhaps you could burst in later. Say, 2 hours?" He suggested casually.

"Lord Master, you will be coming with us." The taller man at the front stepped forward and held out a sealed summons. The Master eyed it warily and slowly put Hally down. She awkwardly adjusted her clothing, trying to avoid the eyes of the six men in front of her, as The Master reached out and tore open the letter.

He sighed quietly to himself, a look of sadness flitting across his face. He masked it with a look of general frustration. "Very well." He shot Hally an apologetic look. "I've been unwillingly enlisted to the war effort." He scowled impatiently. "Indefinitely."

Hally looked between The Master and the guards that were now flanking him. "No… no, we can fight this. You're not going!" She made to step forward and grab his arm.

"No. We can't. Listen to me…" The Master held his hand out to stop one of the guards who was making a move to restrain Hally. "Don't make a scene." He added warningly. Two of the guards took hold of The Master by the shoulders, beginning to forcefully escort him out.

"What are you doing?! You can't do this!" She cried out desperately, grabbing at the arm of one of the guards and pulling him back hard. The guard stumbled backwards into the bookcase and looked momentarily shocked at the force she'd managed to use.

"Hal!" The Master shouted in warning. She looked over to him, pleading him to fight back but he just shook his head. "Don't do anything stupid." He shot her a hard knowing glance, before holding up his hands, showing the guards that he would go willingly.

"Koschei…" She whispered, watching as The Master was escorted from his room, down the dark corridor and finally out of sight.


	14. Part 1 - Chapter 14

**_97 days since Koschei was taken..._ **

Hally shifted in the dark leather chair at The Master's desk, leaning further over the large hardback book she'd taken from his bookshelf. She sighed to herself irritably, flicking through the pages and taking a few quick notes. As predicted she'd failed the Temporal Mechanics examination a week prior and had almost had to resit the last five terms of the subject. However, it'd seemed that Vek had taken some pity on Hally, and so instead had set her a 15,000-word essay on the consequences of change in the infinite interrelationships between objects in the temporal continuum.

She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. While The Master's book on the subject was very comprehensive and fairly digestible, Hally just didn't have the patience to piece together a decent essay. Gently tapping her pen to her lips she looked up at the dark empty bed on the other side of the room. She hadn't made the bed in exactly 96 days now, the black silk sheets crumpled up in a pile.

_What's the point in making beds, we only get back into them?_

After The Master had been taken, Hally hadn't left his room for three days. Initially, she'd rationalised that she was hiding from Rassilon and The Council but after the third day of lying entangled in The Master's sheets, staring up at the ceiling, she'd realised that she was instead just wallowing in her own misery. She forced herself to get dressed on the fourth day and finally had dragged herself back to her classes. Initially it had felt like some great feat, a great victory, but after a day or two she'd just ended up slipping into her old routine. Just without The Master. She had plodded her way through each day. Every day felt strange, like a dream. Something was missing, he felt so very far away that she could barely feel him through their bond. It was hell. It hurt and it made her angry.

Persca wasn't helping either. She'd avoided Hally ever since their argument. To her surprise, the only student who was talking to her at all was Lenden. He seemed to think that Persca had overreacted a little and must have felt sorry for Hally, now that she was alone and a target for Rassilon and the High Chancellors.

Yes. Rassilon.

He'd been making almost weekly attempts at making Hally's life as difficult as possible. He'd had her arrested and questioned approximately six times now, for 'conspiracy to commit treason'. Of course each time she'd eventually be released, after hours of pointless questioning, when they found no actual evidence. But the process was exhausting and painful never-the-less.

Hally bit into her lower lip, she hated feeling so powerless against them all. She wanted to fight so badly but she knew that in doing so she'd only make things 100 times worse.

The Time War had gotten much worse too. There had been two attacks just outside of the Capitol in the last three months and with more expected the Gallifreyan military had grown exponentially in order to protect the Capitol. Many of the graduated students of the Academy had already joined the fight and almost every day it felt like more and more students disappeared to join them.

She winced, finally noticing that she'd managed to bite into her lip. Huffing softly she licked away the blood, sucking on her lower lip while she put away The Master's book. She gathered up her notes and shoved them into her bag, flinging the strap over her shoulder as she walked toward the door.

Walking across the south bridge towards the new observatory, she felt someone run up from behind her. Before she could swing around to possibly attack whoever it was, Lenden's irritatingly familiar voice popped up to her right.

"Hey, outlaw!" He chirped. Hally rolled her eyes at his vaguely hopeful tone. Passing him a look that said _'you found me…'_.

"How's she doing?" Hally muttered back to him after it became clear that Lenden had nothing of importance to say.

"Not too bad, she's worried about her brother." Hally nodded, frowning. Lenden continued, "He hasn't sent a message home for a few days and you know there was that attack on…" He trailed off, sending her an awkward glance.

Hally nodded slowly, unaware that she'd been holding her breath. She'd been worried about The Master too, two days ago there had been an announcement that one of the Time Lord defended forts in the northern region had almost been obliterated after a legion of Dalek warships had attacked without warning. She'd tried to reach out to him through their bond, for a long while there had just been silence. She'd managed to convince herself that he couldn't be dead. If he had died she would have felt something… _surely?_ Eventually, after what had probably been hours, she'd felt a soft nudge in the back of her mind. He was still out there somewhere. Alive.

Lenden broke her out of her own thoughts. "How's your assignment going? I can always give it a read if you need a spare pair of eyes." He smiled sympathetically at her.

She squashed the urge to berate him for his pity, instead putting on a small smile. "Thank you, I'd actually really appreciate that." She wasn't lying, while it wasn't her main priority, she really needed to not fail this assignment.

They got to class and Lenden sent her a smile as he went to take his seat next to Persca. Hally took a place at the back of the room. He was right, Persca looked tired. Her skin had a sickly pale tinge and her usually perfect hair seemed to have lost its life and shine. Hally looked away, suddenly feeling very guilty.

After class, Hally slinked off back to her/The Master's room. It had become a bit of a routine, skipping meals. After a few more hours of hopelessly pouring over Temporal Mechanics books, she wrapped herself in The Master's robe and took herself to bed, as she had done for many nights. His smell lingering less and less every time she fell asleep.

* * *

**_114 days since Koschei left…_ **

Hally jolted awake to the noise of loud banging coming from her door. She groaned outwardly, instantly assuming it was Rassilon sending his guards to arrest her again. In the early hours of the morning. Did this man have no boundaries?!

Making sure her robe was wrapped tightly around her, she threw off her covers and padded over to the door. The knocking was only getting more and more frantic.

"I'm coming!" She grumbled, pulling the door open quickly, expecting to see a small legion of guards. Instead a small blonde blur bundled its way in, the door closing sharply behind. Hally took a step back, taking in the tears streaming down her friends face.

"Persca… what is it? What's wrong?" Hally was eyeing her cautiously, Persca looked like she might attack her? Her eyes were red from crying and tears were still streaking down her face. Her hair was a mess and she looked out of breath, like she'd ran all the way here.

"They've… taken him-" Persca sobbed. Hally took her lightly by the arms, Persca looked like she was about to collapse. Leading her over to The Master's chair, Hally gently sat her friend down. Persca tried to take a deep breath, "Lenden… this morning. They're forcing him to fight!"

Hally's blood ran cold. The pair fell silent, the only noise that could be heard was Persca's ragged breathing.

Could this be Rassilon's doing? Had he moved on from simply wasting her time, to actively trying to hurt the people she cared about?

Hally frowned deeply, turning away from her friend. "It's ok… he'll be ok. I'll make sure of it."

Persca whimpered quietly, Hally sighed, turning back to her and holding out her hand. "There's nothing we can do at the moment. You might as well get some sleep and we can fix this when the sun's up." Persca nodded bashfully, taking Hally's hand and letting her guide her over to the bed.

Just as she was about to lie down, Persca paused, narrowing her eyes at Hally. "Wait… have you…?" She looked suspiciously down at the sheets. Hally let out a sharp laugh.

"No! Woman! We have not. Now lie down and sleep before I throw you out for waking me up so early." She playfully pushed Persca down and pulled the covers over her. Persca chuckled softly to herself, settling down.

It didn't take long before Hally could see the slow steady rise and fall of her friends chest indicating she was fast asleep. Hally flopped herself into the leather chair at the desk, resting her head back against the smooth surface. Fatigue was still making her mind a little foggy but she couldn't sleep now, she needed to try and come up with some sort of plan to try and fix this mess.

 _What would The Master do?_ She thought to herself, gently tapping her fingernails on the dark wood of the desk. She smiled wryly to herself.

_The Master doesn't have friends so he wouldn't be in this predicament at all._

_Perhaps he'd result to murder…again._

_Or maybe just stroll in like he owned the place? That seems to work rather a lot._

She sighed, chuckling quietly to herself, shaking her head.

_No. This must have been Rassilon's doing. It feels personal._

Finally, the sun began to rise and the warm, yellow light began to fall in through the curtains. Hally looked over towards Persca, still sound asleep. Trying to be as quiet as possible, Hally rose from her seat pulled on some clothes, she then tip-toed towards the door. Prying it open, the wood groaning under her fingertips as she slipped through and out into the empty corridor.

The early Council meeting would be starting soon, and perhaps Hally could make enough of a scene to conjure up the exasperating President himself. She had to admit, certainly not one of her finest plans but it'd have to do.

By the time she made it up to the Council Chamber, the corridors had begun to fill with many officials milling about. Hally also saw a lot of military green among the Councillor Red/Orange. That was odd, they weren't often seen in large numbers about the Capitol.

Hally stopped herself just outside the Council Chamber.

_Right… time to march on in and do some…demanding._

Hally paused, she felt ridiculous. Could she really do this? This was the Gallifreyan Council. They were just going to laugh.

_No!_

_No. This is important._

_They've taken enough from me already._

_I am a fucking Queen._

She shrugged.

_Kind of._

With that Hally took a deep breath in and pushed the doors to the chamber open.

She was met with a table of grey-haired, stern-faced men, turning to face her. One even made a disgruntled noise of outrage as she entered.

"Wha-what do you think you're doing? This is a Council meeting. You cannot just _barge_ in here!" The man sat at the top end of the table stood, on shaky old legs to confront her.

"Yes. Yes. I get it. Now before Grandad here has a heart attack. I need you to go and get our _gracious_ Lord President for me." Hally smiled sweetly.

One of the Councillors audibly gasped. "You cannot demand an audience with the President!"

She shrugged, "I think you'll find I can. Now I suggest that you…" She pointed to one of the closest Councillors, he looked fairly young. Hopefully a quick walker. "…and you." She nodded to another Councillor. "Go and tell our President that the future Queen of the Garden wants to negotiate."

Nobody moved.

"Trust me he's NOT going to be happy to find out you kept this from him for longer than required!" A few of the men around the table jumped slightly. One of the Councillors she'd singled out looked up to the elder at the top of the table. He gave him a tiny nod and the two Councillors suddenly stood and scuttled out of the room.

An awkward silence descended.

"You know, I didn't really expect that to work." Hally smiled simply, the elder grumbled unhappily. He rose from his seat and the rest of the Councillors followed suit, they silently filed out of the room until Hally was left on her own. She let out the breath she'd apparently been holding.

The room suddenly felt even more unwelcoming now that everyone had left. Hally felt nervous butterflies descend into her stomach. What the hell was she thinking, she had absolutely nothing to offer Rassilon.

Soft footsteps coming from behind her caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. The room seemed to darken and Hally heard the large golden doors hiss shut.

"I hear you have demanded my presence. To what do I owe this _honour?_ " His voice was laced with danger, it made Hally's stomach jolt. Any façade of confidence instantly dribbled away.

_This was a bad idea._

The footsteps slowly began to circle round be behind her "Hmm?" He added.

Hally cleared her throat and awkwardly tried to stand up straighter, trying to regain some of her composure.

"I was under the impression that enlisting was voluntary?" Finally, Hally turned to face him, shooting him a brave glare.

Rassilon slowly raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence. "We're in need of further reinforcements. It's sometimes necessary in war to do things not everybody agrees with. You wouldn't understand." He added softly as if trying to teach a child.

She gritted her teeth. "Why take _him_?" She narrowed her eyes. "There are plenty of willing fighters still left at the academy…" Rassilon chuckled softly, amused by her obvious irritation.

"I'm afraid the decision is final. Now _Your Highness_ if you've quite finished wasting my time." He smirked. She was not winning this one.

Rassilon turned away, going to leave the room, flashing her a sly smirk.

Hally had to stop him leaving.

"What is it that you want from me?" She blurted out, hating the desperation that was creeping into her voice.

His cruel laugh echoed around the room.

"What makes you think I want anything from you?" He didn't even turn to face her.

His voice quietened to a whisper. "I am quite content to watch you sit helplessly by and watch everyone you care about die." Hally felt her mouth drop open slightly.

Taking her silence as a submission, Rassilon let out a soft hum of approval and he strode out of the room.

Hally stepped back and felt her back hit the hard table. She had to steady herself against it, her hearts were beating painfully in her chest.

This was all her fault.

_No… No!_

Hally shook her head angrily feeling a hot tear fall down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly and swallowed down the bile that had risen in the back of her throat. She was _not_ going to stand by and watch anyone die.

If all this was because of her then she'd have to protect Lenden herself.

_Time to join this stupid war._


	15. Part 1 - Chapter 15

_**153 days since Koschei was taken…** _

The constant rumbling of the engine underneath her was rocking Hally to sleep. The air transport carrier skating swiftly over the once beautiful hills of Mount Ivar. The small team in the carrier were all looking around, some with anxious looks on their faces. This team had been tasked with the retrieval of a Dalek prisoner being held within the underground labyrinth of the mountain.

She shot Lenden a small smile, he winked back confidently. She stifled a laugh and rolled her eyes. Just over a month ago she'd promised Persca that she would make sure Lenden got back safe, so here she was, following him to all the depths of hell.

They'd both been transported from the academy to one of the military training camps that had been established on the other side of Mount Cadon. The _snowy_ side. Hally had quickly realised that while she herself might be quite… weak and have pretty terrible stamina. She could use her… _advantage_ to cheat her way into being stronger, faster and a lot more deadly. This was how she had quickly graduated with Lenden from the training camp and into what was currently a recon squadron.

Hally sighed softly and arched her back to try and see out of the small slit of a window in the side of the aircraft. All she could see was darkness. Hally felt the aircraft begin to slow up, Greir, their Captain unbuckled her safety belt and stoop up, holding onto one of the poles that lined the ceiling for support.

"Ok, this needs to be a quick in and out team. The prisoner is located deep inside sector 13. Vance and I are going straight in for the recon. Wraight and Forde you'll be eyeing us from above, keep her in stealth. Tomason, Oakdown…" The Captain turned her gaze on her and Lenden. "You're coming with us, keep our exit clear… we're not expecting any kind of attack. However, the locals have been a little hostile considering what we're keeping in their basement."

Hally nodded slowly. "Got it."

The aircraft made its careful landing a few short minutes later. Hally had surprised even herself at her ability to follow instructions when it came to life or death. Plus, after her promise to Persca, she really had to be on best behaviour, so to not get kicked out their squadron. There had been rumours about Time Lord's going rogue. Squadron executions and soldiers simply disappearing into thin air…

Once on the ground, the team took their separate positions, Hally and Lenden found the planned exit route and took up position just outside. Hally found herself edging closer to the damp wall of the dark tunnel, trying to find suitable cover should they need it. Once in position, their pair fell silent. A whistling wind ruffled through the grass at their feet. The darkness was thick and seemed to centre in on them. It was eerily silent.

They waited in tense silence for around 15 minutes. Lenden checked the sky, shifting from side to side on his feet. "Shouldn't we have heard from them by now?" He whispered, catching Hally's attention.

She nodded, straining to try and hear anything from the mouth of the dark tunnel that quickly disappeared into the darkness as it wound deeper into the mountain.

Silence.

"Come on, we should check on them." Lenden took a few tentative steps into the tunnel. Looking back at her for confirmation. Hally bit her lip, looking around, uncertain. During most of their training and missions together Lenden would always look to Hally for the final decision. He'd seen her get out of enough tight spots to have the opinion that it seemed to be best when you were doing whatever it was she was doing. After a few moments, she nodded uneasily, heading in behind him.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" She whispered.

The pair made their way cautiously further and further into the darkness of the tunnel. With a small click, Lenden flicked on his torch, shining a harsh white light through the thick darkness. They slowly eased further and further inside the mountain, the silence that surrounded them seemed to hold the promise of something dangerous.

"It's too quiet." Lenden's voice cracked a little. Hally turned to try and shoot him a reassuring look but she couldn't see his face at all in the darkness.

Suddenly there was a sharp cry of anguish from up ahead, followed immediately by haphazard flashes of bright purple and blue lights. Before Lenden could turn to Hally to ask what they should do, Hally had already bolted down the tunnel towards the lights. As they drew closer, they could hear the sounds of multiple blasters being fired, the light coming from each shot illuminating the tunnel. Further shouts of panic and harsh screaming came from around the corner. Lenden flashed a worried look over to the girl sprinting beside him, the flashes of the blasters lighting up her face just enough for him to be able to see the excited grin on her face. However, before they could get around the corner, Vance came barrelling into them, his weapon still firing at whatever had been attacking him.

He recoiled, shocked that he'd hit something, raising his blaster straight at Hally's face. She knocked it away, growling softly. "Watch where you're pointing that thing!"

Vance faltered, Lenden held his hands above his head, trying to calm the stocky man. "Hey! Hey! It's us! What the hell happened? Where's the Captain?!"

"Dead." Vance finally spat out as he pushed past them. "Morons didn't check it was actually unconscious. Thing was just playing dead!" Hally's eyes widened as the source of all the commotion rounded the corner on them. Its bright blue, single eye seemed to scan over each of them, the point of its blaster passing between them thoughtfully.

Hally shook her head in disbelief. So this was a Dalek. It didn't look as deadly as she'd thought, a bit primitive. Like someone had made it in their back yard…

"Ex-ter-min-ate!" The golden tin can shrieked, bringing Hally back to the present.

"Shit." She muttered, seeing that its weapon was currently trained on Lenden. Without thinking, Hally moved as fast as she could, pushing herself in front of Lenden as the electric bolt fired from the Dalek.

Hally let out a sharp cry as it hit her square in the back. She was knocked forwards into a stunned Lenden's arms.

There was a painful ringing in her ears and she could suddenly see dark spots creeping into her vision. She barely registered Lenden shouting at her, panic in his eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Vance shooting back at the Dalek, Lenden had a painfully tight grip on her. That was when she realised that her legs had given way, he was keeping her up. Trying to move her back up the tunnel.

The pain in her back was immense, a burning hot fire was pushing through her body. The smell of burnt flesh suddenly engulfed her and Hally had to fight the urge to retch when she realised it was her own.

She was going to die.

Her body froze in panic. One of her hearts had stopped.

Stopped.

It felt like it had been burnt to a crisp.

"Hal! No… Just stay with me!" Lenden was now practically dragging her back up out of the tunnel, she could hear the unmistakable sound of Vance's blaster as he covered them from behind.

It was strange, the further he carried her out of the tunnel, the easier walking seemed to become. Hally could still taste the blood in the throat, however, it didn't feel like it was choking her anymore. Each breath was becoming slightly less and less agonising.

Perhaps death could be peaceful?

She could still feel a burning pain radiating from her back as Lenden dragged her back onto the ship. In the background, she heard Vance cry out for Forde to get them out of there. Lenden practically dropped her onto the make-shift med-bay, crying out for Wraight to grab a medkit. She winced as Wraight roughly turned her over onto her front, expecting to feel the harsh cold of the medical equipment on her wound.

A stunned silence followed. Hally frowned. After a few moments, she pushed through her hands, finding she could actually quite easily sit herself up.

"Wait…what's wrong?" She finally asked, when neither man spoke. Gingerly she twisted round to try and see or touch her back. Weirdly the pain had faded to a dull ache.

Lenden looked slowly between her and Wraight, his face was a mixture of confusion and…fear?

"I saw you. You were hit. You were hit right in front of me…"

Hally nodded, worried by the look that was passing over Lenden's face, "I know… my heart stopped." She scrunched up her face in confusion, touching the left side of her chest. Her heart was beating perfectly again.

"There's nothing there…" Lenden looked up at her.

A small gasp escaped Hally. She was trying to think. Think quickly. She needed to breathe. She'd forgotten to breathe.

"Umm…" She had to come up with something. _Anything._

"Maybe… it… it was… just a stun." She winced at her terrible attempt of a lie. Neither Lenden nor Wraight looked at all convinced.

"Dalek's don't do stun kid." Vance narrowed his eyes at her as he came back in from the cockpit.

"Well. This one did." She growled back defensively. Hally grabbed a spare top from the drawer underneath the med-bay, throwing it over her ruined one.

"Guys… just drop it. I'm alive. Lenden, you're welcome." She shot him an accusatory glare, hoping it would get him off her back as she slipped awkwardly off the bed. The trio all shared a look of disbelief as she casually went and sat back in her seat, buckling herself in as if everything had gone completely to plan.

Vance shook his head and muttered something under his breath irritably as he skulked back to Forde in the cockpit. Wraight looked awkwardly down at the floor, taking a seat as far away from Hally as possible.

Lenden looked between them, before slowly taking the seat opposite Hally. "Yeah… no, thanks." She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow in irritation. He continued. "I mean, thanks for saving my life, and for somehow not regenerating." He frowned at her, worry crossing his face.

"Fluke." She said, licking her lower lip. "We should be more worried about the fact that we totally failed our mission. The asset is now free in the mountain and Greir is dead." She clicked her tongue harshly. But looking at Lenden, it was like he hadn't heard a word she'd just said.

"How did you do that?" He implored.

"Do what?!" She cried out, coughing awkwardly when Wraight looked over at her outburst. "Look. Seriously. I didn't do anything. Can we just drop it?" She hissed.

Lenden's voice dropped even quieter so Wraight couldn't hear. "You think they're going to drop it? Because you're right… we did fail, and they've got a pretty big reason to blame it on you…"

Hally's eyes widened. "Me…?" She bit back, flicking a glance over to Wraight to check he couldn't hear them. "It wasn't my fault? You were with me the whole time…"

Lenden shook his head sadly. "I know… that's not what I meant. What we just saw… Hally. That's not normal."

She let out a small frustrated groan. "I know. Okay. Trust me I know." She ran her hands over her face, trying to find the right words. "I can't explain it Lenden. I'm sorry… look don't put yourself in any danger. Okay? This is my mess. I promised Persca you'd stay out of trouble."

He let out a small laugh. "Yeah well, you officially stepped in front of a bullet for me so consider that contract filled."

She shook her head in exasperation, chuckling. "I can't, you might decide to walk in front of another blast." He smiled back at her, his eyes still held a kind of sadness.

The rest of the ride back to the closest checkpoint had been silent, eventually, Wraight had stood up and left to find the others, so Hally and Lenden had just sat in a semi-awkward silence. Once they'd landed Hally had swiftly departed from the group and made her way to the sleeping quarters alone.

Looking back, that had probably been a mistake.

There was a small mirror in the communal bathroom. Once she was sure she was alone, Hally had stripped off her tops and turned around. Straining to see her back in the mirror.

She stared at the perfect porcelain skin.

Not a single mark.

A small smile pulled at the side of her mouth and she covered her mouth with her hand to stifle the laugh that escaped. She turned away from the mirror, her eyes wide.

"Oh my God…" She grinned stupidly into her hand.

A small trickle of misery eased its way into her mind as she realised that the one person she wanted to share this _insane_ discovery with, was probably on the other side of the galaxy at the moment.

Hally quickly redressed and climbed into her bunk, lying down and staring at the ceiling in amazement.

She must have eventually fallen asleep because the next thing she was aware of was being roughly pulled awake as someone painfully grabbed her upper arms and yanked her out of bed. Before she could see who it was, a scratchy black fabric was pulled over her head.

Hally yelped in fear and tried to kick out at the perpetrator. She managed to land a nasty hit to their shin and she triumphantly heard a grunt of pain. Her panic only rose when she felt more hands make a grab for her. Two securing her legs, as she felt her body get shifted up onto someone's shoulder, the world tipping upside down.

She shrieked and continued to squirm painfully. "Put! Me! Down!" She cried out.

Her continuous shouting was completely ignored as she was marched away, then, suddenly she was thrown down onto the ground. The harsh concrete cutting into her knees and hands when she tried to break her fall. She could now see various lights coming through the black material that was covering her head. Multiple hushed voices mumbled incoherently all around her.

Someone stepped forwards, a shadow falling across the light in front of her. She could still hardly see a thing.

"Gentlemen, the events that unfolded tonight were part of a routine recon mission. Now. Because of this soldier in front of us. Many have died, including the well-respected Captain Grier." Hally heard a murmur of agreement pass around the room. What the hell was this!?

She opened her mouth to fight back but the unfamiliar voice continued. "This soldier has committed treason. Has betrayed her own. And so, this assembly has condemned her to complete exile." There were a few cries of contemptuous agreement.

"Wait, what?!" Hally shouted, trying to get to her feet.

The crack that sounded as something (probably someone's hand) smacked into the side of Hally's face, reverberated around the room. She was knocked back to the ground, holding a hand up to her face as pain exploded across her cheek.

Hally felt two pairs of hands grab at her upper arms again, hoisting her up to standing. Someone grabbed both her hands and forced them together. She felt the cold metal of restraints against her wrists and the unmistakable click as they were locked shut.

"She is to be exiled and imprisoned with immediate effect. On the planet Phrìosan." Hally tried to struggle against her bonds but they only bit into her skin tighter. She felt the hands at her arms release her, until she was standing alone. The restraints on her wrists hissed and beeped sharply and Hally groaned inwardly. They were Prison Vortex Transporter Restraints.

With an obnoxious click, Hally felt the nauseating pull of the Vortex Transporter as it dragged her primitively through space, straight onto Phrìosan. The backwater prison planet, well known for its dodgy dealings and string of _missing_ prisoners. With an uncomfortable jerk, Hally's feet found the floor again and she staggered to stay upright. The black fabric was ripped off her head and Hally raised her hands to cover her eyes from the now comparatively bright light.

The guard grabbed her by the upper arm, by this point she was sure she'd have bruises from all this manhandling and dragged her down a concrete grey corridor. He was at least 7ft tall, Hally stared at him. He had a strangely large jaw for the size of the rest of his head. Perhaps that was what all Phrìosanian's looked like? He grunted angrily and shook her a little when he noticed her staring.

"Ow…" She groaned, trying to pull her arm free. The guard stopped and punched a long password into the pad by the door. It opened and he quickly shoved her inside, sliding the door shut behind her. Hally heard him grunt again outside the cell before his heavy footsteps disappeared back down the corridor, leaving her all alone.

Hally looked around the tiny, grey, damp cell.

_Great._

* * *

_**165 days since Koschei disappeared…** _

_**12 days since I was wrongly imprisoned.** _

It'd been 12 days since Hally had eaten.

It'd been 12 days since Hally had spoken to anyone.

12 days since she'd seen any form of life… apart from the small purple spider, she had found in the corner of her cell.

12 days since she'd showered…

She sighed loudly and stretched out her back on the cold floor. Every now and then she'd heard guards escorting other prisoners in and out. They'd always ignored her when she'd tried to shout obscenities at them.

It was strange, whenever they took a prisoner out… it was always a different one brought back in.

For the first few days, she'd tried to contact The Master through their bond but she'd only received silence. He must have been too far away. She'd considered the possibility of just blasting her way out. However, the door had ended up being heavier than she'd anticipated and while she might have been able to successfully 'get angry' and blow down the door. She wasn't sure she'd then be ready for whatever was on the other side. Plus… there really aren't many ways off a _prison_ planet.

Hally lifted up her head in surprise as her door began to slide open. Two burly guards stood on the other side of her door.

 _Huh…I guess they_ **do** _all look like that._

She quickly scrambled to get up as one of the giants took a step into her cell. He smirked and took her by the upper arm. His massive hand looked like it could crush her bone should he be so inclined. She was marched out of her room and down the miserable grey corridor. The guard was pulling her along so quickly that Hally had to jog on tip-toes just to not trip over. The prison was like a maze and after about the seventeenth left turn Hally was completely disorientated. Finally, the guard pushed open a heavy black door, on the other side was a hexagonal room, full of people. Hally looked around frantically, it seemed to be a mixture of prisoners, guards and… others. Some were dressed all in black, it was a military-type uniform but not of any squadron she'd ever seen. Some were in full suit jackets. What the hell was this?

The guard manoeuvred Hally into the middle of the room, where Hally could now see a small stage had been set up. Her guard pulled her up onto the stage before releasing her, leaving her stood with what she now realised was the rest of the prisoners. Most of the guards then weaved their way through the small crowd and exited as quickly as they had come, those that remained stood unmoving at the doors to the room.

Hally looked around her, bewildered. A small man was inspecting each of the prisoners individually, for some he would get out a measuring tape and start measuring. Others he would just straightaway assign a number. As he made his way around each prisoner, Hally began to feel more and more uneasy. She stole a quick look at the small crowd that was now circling the stage, from what she could see at least 90% of the attendees were carrying weapons. She locked eyes with a middle-aged looking man, he was dressed in the black military attire. He flashed her a predatory smirk before turning to what must have been an associate, whispering something in his ear. The associate, also dressed in black, chuckled to himself, looking Hally up and down appreciatively. Hally tensed her jaw, looking away from the pair.

_This is very very bad._

The small man scuttled over and stood in front of her, looking her up and down in a more matter of fact way. He made a small sound of confirmation before ripping off a number from his papers in front of him, slapping it onto her arm. She jumped slightly and tried to back up behind a few other prisoners, bumping into a rather muscular figure behind her, the humanoid simply hissed at her, flashing a serpent-like tongue. Hally shuffled back to where she'd been standing before, the small man had now made his way down off the stage and had picked up a small round microchip. He stuck it in between his collar bones and coughed. His voice now amplified around the room.

Hally tried to slow her breathing, her hearts were both nervously fluttering in her chest. What she wouldn't give for The Master to appear now.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" He announced, everyone in the room quietened to listen. "Welcome. It looks like we certainly have a lot of fighters in the room tonight!" He grinned charismatically, motioning to the stage, which _was_ largely made up large, burly men. Hally swallowed awkwardly.

"But, there's something for everyone." The small, presenter-man sent Hally a wink. A few of the crowd members laughed. "Sweet. Although we are told that she was sent here after killing one of her squadron!" He gasped dramatically. "So perhaps a fighter yet!" He choked out a fake laugh, turning back to the 'audience'.

Hally's eyes flickered around the crowd.

_No friendly faces here._

She knew exactly what this was. She had to get out of here.

"Now, number 201… very strong guy. Almost took out 3 of our guards this one! Bidding is starting at 500 Phliox's!" The presenter approached a terrifying-looking creature, his skin was bright red and his face resembled that of a beetle. Hally looked around the remaining prisoners as the auction continued on. Surely if they all decided to fight their way out they might stand a chance? Hally then remembered the labyrinth of tunnels and the fact that the entire planet was full of them. She fiddled nervously with her fingernails.

The presenter was cut off halfway through bargaining for number 213 by the predatory middle-aged man in the blacks. "Oi! Hurry up and get to the girl will you!" There was a low hum of approval from the crowd. "Some of us want to get her home early…" He sent her a wink. Hally paled and had to swallow down the bile that rose in her throat.

The small presenter laughed. "Well, since you're so keen." He considered her for a moment. "Let's start at 2,500 Philox's!" Hally tried to take a small step back, the man merely laughed.

"Done!" He raised his hand to the presenter, who nodded. Looking around the crowd for any counteroffers.

"2,600!" Came a call from the back, a tall, slim man, wearing dark glasses. Hally wrapped her arms around herself tightly. Panic building in her chest.

The man, who by his attire, Hally assumed was some kind of missionary smirked. "Cut the crap. 3,500!"

"Come on sweetheart, I promise not to bite." He grinned hungrily at her.

Something inside her snapped and Hally lunged herself at the man. There was a sharp intake from the crowd and a few even reached for their weapons but Hally had already barrelled into him. It was taking all her concentration to not completely lose it and send him flying across the room. Instead, she focused her energy into her strength, easily flooring him with a well-aimed punch to the back of the knee. Once on the ground, Hally grabbed his arm, twisting it painfully into his back. He let out an undignified scream as his arm broke with a satisfying snap.

She jumped up to her feet, dodging one of the guards as they made a swipe for her. Instead, she ducked and stealthily pulled a gun from the holster of one of the suits. Aiming it quickly at the presenter.

People stood around her gasped and took a few steps back, almost tripping over one another. The presenter gave her a sympathetic look.

"Now, now. There's absolutely no scenario where this ends well for you. Put it down, dear." Hally swallowed, noticing that all the guards were now pointing blasters in her direction. She stood her ground, gripping her gun tightly.

From out of the crowd, stepped a pale humanoid. He was wearing a pinstriped grey suit and was carrying a cane. He looked barely older than Hally.

"Finchly, dearest…" He drawled towards the presenter. "Let me." He took a step towards Hally, and into the sight of her gun. He flashed her a charming smile. "That was quite something." He smiled knowingly at her. "Let me make you a deal, sweetheart. Give me the gun. And I'll buy you." He looked over his shoulder to _Finchly,_ the presenter. "…say 3,600, will that do?"

The presenter nodded, watching amusedly. "Sounds about right."

He turned back and held out his hand, motioning for Hally to give him the gun. "Come, come. We don't have all day." Hally waivered, fear flashing across her eyes. He obviously picked up on it because he chuckled patronisingly.

"Don't worry. I won't _touch_ you." He smiled sweetly, beckoning for her with his fingers.

Hally took a deep breath, not seeing another choice and stepped forward slowly, lowering the gun into his hand. He grinned and with his other hand, quickly caught her wrist. He turned back to Finchly. "Just charge the usual account dearest." Hally began to pull at his grip weakly. He sighed dramatically and turned back to her.

"Please don't. This is going to be a lot easier if I don't have to carry you out of here…" His eyes twinkled impatiently. Hally pulled harder, almost pulling him off balance.

"If you _want,_ I'll happily leave you with one of these gentlemen… but trust me they have much more _imaginative_ uses for you." Hally cried out angrily and in a desperate attempt, bit down hard on his hand.

"Ah!" He let her go suddenly. He began to laugh. "Oooh, I like this one!" He clicked his fingers and two of his associates appeared from the crowd behind Hally.

She felt a sharp scratch on the side of her neck and suddenly everything went black.

_**153 days since Koschei was taken…** _

The constant rumbling of the engine underneath her was rocking Hally to sleep. The air transport carrier skating swiftly over the once beautiful hills of Mount Ivar. The small team in the carrier were all looking around, some with anxious looks on their faces. This team had been tasked with the retrieval of a Dalek prisoner being held within the underground labyrinth of the mountain.

She shot Lenden a small smile, he winked back confidently. She stifled a laugh and rolled her eyes. Just over a month ago she'd promised Persca that she would make sure Lenden got back safe, so here she was, following him to all the depths of hell.

They'd both been transported from the academy to one of the military training camps that had been established on the other side of Mount Cadon. The _snowy_ side. Hally had quickly realised that while she herself might be quite… weak and have pretty terrible stamina. She could use her… _advantage_ to cheat her way into being stronger, faster and a lot more deadly. This was how she had quickly graduated with Lenden from the training camp and into what was currently a recon squadron.

Hally sighed softly and arched her back to try and see out of the small slit of a window in the side of the aircraft. All she could see was darkness. Hally felt the aircraft begin to slow up, Greir, their Captain unbuckled her safety belt and stoop up, holding onto one of the poles that lined the ceiling for support.

"Ok, this needs to be a quick in and out team. The prisoner is located deep inside sector 13. Vance and I are going straight in for the recon. Wraight and Forde you'll be eyeing us from above, keep her in stealth. Tomason, Oakdown…" The Captain turned her gaze on her and Lenden. "You're coming with us, keep our exit clear… we're not expecting any kind of attack. However, the locals have been a little hostile considering what we're keeping in their basement."

Hally nodded slowly. "Got it."

The aircraft made its careful landing a few short minutes later. Hally had surprised even herself at her ability to follow instructions when it came to life or death. Plus, after her promise to Persca, she really had to be on best behaviour, so to not get kicked out their squadron. There had been rumours about Time Lord's going rogue. Squadron executions and soldiers simply disappearing into thin air…

Once on the ground, the team took their separate positions, Hally and Lenden found the planned exit route and took up position just outside. Hally found herself edging closer to the damp wall of the dark tunnel, trying to find suitable cover should they need it. Once in position, their pair fell silent. A whistling wind ruffled through the grass at their feet. The darkness was thick and seemed to centre in on them. It was eerily silent.

They waited in tense silence for around 15 minutes. Lenden checked the sky, shifting from side to side on his feet. "Shouldn't we have heard from them by now?" He whispered, catching Hally's attention.

She nodded, straining to try and hear anything from the mouth of the dark tunnel that quickly disappeared into the darkness as it wound deeper into the mountain.

Silence.

"Come on, we should check on them." Lenden took a few tentative steps into the tunnel. Looking back at her for confirmation. Hally bit her lip, looking around, uncertain. During most of their training and missions together Lenden would always look to Hally for the final decision. He'd seen her get out of enough tight spots to have the opinion that it seemed to be best when you were doing whatever it was she was doing. After a few moments, she nodded uneasily, heading in behind him.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" She whispered.

The pair made their way cautiously further and further into the darkness of the tunnel. With a small click, Lenden flicked on his torch, shining a harsh white light through the thick darkness. They slowly eased further and further inside the mountain, the silence that surrounded them seemed to hold the promise of something dangerous.

"It's too quiet." Lenden's voice cracked a little. Hally turned to try and shoot him a reassuring look but she couldn't see his face at all in the darkness.

Suddenly there was a sharp cry of anguish from up ahead, followed immediately by haphazard flashes of bright purple and blue lights. Before Lenden could turn to Hally to ask what they should do, Hally had already bolted down the tunnel towards the lights. As they drew closer, they could hear the sounds of multiple blasters being fired, the light coming from each shot illuminating the tunnel. Further shouts of panic and harsh screaming came from around the corner. Lenden flashed a worried look over to the girl sprinting beside him, the flashes of the blasters lighting up her face just enough for him to be able to see the excited grin on her face. However, before they could get around the corner, Vance came barrelling into them, his weapon still firing at whatever had been attacking him.

He recoiled, shocked that he'd hit something, raising his blaster straight at Hally's face. She knocked it away, growling softly. "Watch where you're pointing that thing!"

Vance faltered, Lenden held his hands above his head, trying to calm the stocky man. "Hey! Hey! It's us! What the hell happened? Where's the Captain?!"

"Dead." Vance finally spat out as he pushed past them. "Morons didn't check it was actually unconscious. Thing was just playing dead!" Hally's eyes widened as the source of all the commotion rounded the corner on them. Its bright blue, single eye seemed to scan over each of them, the point of its blaster passing between them thoughtfully.

Hally shook her head in disbelief. So this was a Dalek. It didn't look as deadly as she'd thought, a bit primitive. Like someone had made it in their back yard…

"Ex-ter-min-ate!" The golden tin can shrieked, bringing Hally back to the present.

"Shit." She muttered, seeing that its weapon was currently trained on Lenden. Without thinking, Hally moved as fast as she could, pushing herself in front of Lenden as the electric bolt fired from the Dalek.

Hally let out a sharp cry as it hit her square in the back. She was knocked forwards into a stunned Lenden's arms.

There was a painful ringing in her ears and she could suddenly see dark spots creeping into her vision. She barely registered Lenden shouting at her, panic in his eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Vance shooting back at the Dalek, Lenden had a painfully tight grip on her. That was when she realised that her legs had given way, he was keeping her up. Trying to move her back up the tunnel.

The pain in her back was immense, a burning hot fire was pushing through her body. The smell of burnt flesh suddenly engulfed her and Hally had to fight the urge to retch when she realised it was her own.

She was going to die.

Her body froze in panic. One of her hearts had stopped.

Stopped.

It felt like it had been burnt to a crisp.

"Hal! No… Just stay with me!" Lenden was now practically dragging her back up out of the tunnel, she could hear the unmistakable sound of Vance's blaster as he covered them from behind.

It was strange, the further he carried her out of the tunnel, the easier walking seemed to become. Hally could still taste the blood in the throat, however, it didn't feel like it was choking her anymore. Each breath was becoming slightly less and less agonising.

Perhaps death could be peaceful?

She could still feel a burning pain radiating from her back as Lenden dragged her back onto the ship. In the background, she heard Vance cry out for Forde to get them out of there. Lenden practically dropped her onto the make-shift med-bay, crying out for Wraight to grab a medkit. She winced as Wraight roughly turned her over onto her front, expecting to feel the harsh cold of the medical equipment on her wound.

A stunned silence followed. Hally frowned. After a few moments, she pushed through her hands, finding she could actually quite easily sit herself up.

"Wait…what's wrong?" She finally asked, when neither man spoke. Gingerly she twisted round to try and see or touch her back. Weirdly the pain had faded to a dull ache.

Lenden looked slowly between her and Wraight, his face was a mixture of confusion and…fear?

"I saw you. You were hit. You were hit right in front of me…"

Hally nodded, worried by the look that was passing over Lenden's face, "I know… my heart stopped." She scrunched up her face in confusion, touching the left side of her chest. Her heart was beating perfectly again.

"There's nothing there…" Lenden looked up at her.

A small gasp escaped Hally. She was trying to think. Think quickly. She needed to breathe. She'd forgotten to breathe.

"Umm…" She had to come up with something. _Anything._

"Maybe… it… it was… just a stun." She winced at her terrible attempt of a lie. Neither Lenden nor Wraight looked at all convinced.

"Dalek's don't do stun kid." Vance narrowed his eyes at her as he came back in from the cockpit.

"Well. This one did." She growled back defensively. Hally grabbed a spare top from the drawer underneath the med-bay, throwing it over her ruined one.

"Guys… just drop it. I'm alive. Lenden, you're welcome." She shot him an accusatory glare, hoping it would get him off her back as she slipped awkwardly off the bed. The trio all shared a look of disbelief as she casually went and sat back in her seat, buckling herself in as if everything had gone completely to plan.

Vance shook his head and muttered something under his breath irritably as he skulked back to Forde in the cockpit. Wraight looked awkwardly down at the floor, taking a seat as far away from Hally as possible.

Lenden looked between them, before slowly taking the seat opposite Hally. "Yeah… no, thanks." She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow in irritation. He continued. "I mean, thanks for saving my life, and for somehow not regenerating." He frowned at her, worry crossing his face.

"Fluke." She said, licking her lower lip. "We should be more worried about the fact that we totally failed our mission. The asset is now free in the mountain and Greir is dead." She clicked her tongue harshly. But looking at Lenden, it was like he hadn't heard a word she'd just said.

"How did you do that?" He implored.

"Do what?!" She cried out, coughing awkwardly when Wraight looked over at her outburst. "Look. Seriously. I didn't do anything. Can we just drop it?" She hissed.

Lenden's voice dropped even quieter so Wraight couldn't hear. "You think they're going to drop it? Because you're right… we did fail, and they've got a pretty big reason to blame it on you…"

Hally's eyes widened. "Me…?" She bit back, flicking a glance over to Wraight to check he couldn't hear them. "It wasn't my fault? You were with me the whole time…"

Lenden shook his head sadly. "I know… that's not what I meant. What we just saw… Hally. That's not normal."

She let out a small frustrated groan. "I know. Okay. Trust me I know." She ran her hands over her face, trying to find the right words. "I can't explain it Lenden. I'm sorry… look don't put yourself in any danger. Okay? This is my mess. I promised Persca you'd stay out of trouble."

He let out a small laugh. "Yeah well, you officially stepped in front of a bullet for me so consider that contract filled."

She shook her head in exasperation, chuckling. "I can't, you might decide to walk in front of another blast." He smiled back at her, his eyes still held a kind of sadness.

The rest of the ride back to the closest checkpoint had been silent, eventually, Wraight had stood up and left to find the others, so Hally and Lenden had just sat in a semi-awkward silence. Once they'd landed Hally had swiftly departed from the group and made her way to the sleeping quarters alone.

Looking back, that had probably been a mistake.

There was a small mirror in the communal bathroom. Once she was sure she was alone, Hally had stripped off her tops and turned around. Straining to see her back in the mirror.

She stared at the perfect porcelain skin.

Not a single mark.

A small smile pulled at the side of her mouth and she covered her mouth with her hand to stifle the laugh that escaped. She turned away from the mirror, her eyes wide.

"Oh my God…" She grinned stupidly into her hand.

A small trickle of misery eased its way into her mind as she realised that the one person she wanted to share this _insane_ discovery with, was probably on the other side of the galaxy at the moment.

Hally quickly redressed and climbed into her bunk, lying down and staring at the ceiling in amazement.

She must have eventually fallen asleep because the next thing she was aware of was being roughly pulled awake as someone painfully grabbed her upper arms and yanked her out of bed. Before she could see who it was, a scratchy black fabric was pulled over her head.

Hally yelped in fear and tried to kick out at the perpetrator. She managed to land a nasty hit to their shin and she triumphantly heard a grunt of pain. Her panic only rose when she felt more hands make a grab for her. Two securing her legs, as she felt her body get shifted up onto someone's shoulder, the world tipping upside down.

She shrieked and continued to squirm painfully. "Put! Me! Down!" She cried out.

Her continuous shouting was completely ignored as she was marched away, then, suddenly she was thrown down onto the ground. The harsh concrete cutting into her knees and hands when she tried to break her fall. She could now see various lights coming through the black material that was covering her head. Multiple hushed voices mumbled incoherently all around her.

Someone stepped forwards, a shadow falling across the light in front of her. She could still hardly see a thing.

"Gentlemen, the events that unfolded tonight were part of a routine recon mission. Now. Because of this soldier in front of us. Many have died, including the well-respected Captain Grier." Hally heard a murmur of agreement pass around the room. What the hell was this!?

She opened her mouth to fight back but the unfamiliar voice continued. "This soldier has committed treason. Has betrayed her own. And so, this assembly has condemned her to complete exile." There were a few cries of contemptuous agreement.

"Wait, what?!" Hally shouted, trying to get to her feet.

The crack that sounded as something (probably someone's hand) smacked into the side of Hally's face, reverberated around the room. She was knocked back to the ground, holding a hand up to her face as pain exploded across her cheek.

Hally felt two pairs of hands grab at her upper arms again, hoisting her up to standing. Someone grabbed both her hands and forced them together. She felt the cold metal of restraints against her wrists and the unmistakable click as they were locked shut.

"She is to be exiled and imprisoned with immediate effect. On the planet Phrìosan." Hally tried to struggle against her bonds but they only bit into her skin tighter. She felt the hands at her arms release her, until she was standing alone. The restraints on her wrists hissed and beeped sharply and Hally groaned inwardly. They were Prison Vortex Transporter Restraints.

With an obnoxious click, Hally felt the nauseating pull of the Vortex Transporter as it dragged her primitively through space, straight onto Phrìosan. The backwater prison planet, well known for its dodgy dealings and string of _missing_ prisoners. With an uncomfortable jerk, Hally's feet found the floor again and she staggered to stay upright. The black fabric was ripped off her head and Hally raised her hands to cover her eyes from the now comparatively bright light.

The guard grabbed her by the upper arm, by this point she was sure she'd have bruises from all this manhandling and dragged her down a concrete grey corridor. He was at least 7ft tall, Hally stared at him. He had a strangely large jaw for the size of the rest of his head. Perhaps that was what all Phrìosanian's looked like? He grunted angrily and shook her a little when he noticed her staring.

"Ow…" She groaned, trying to pull her arm free. The guard stopped and punched a long password into the pad by the door. It opened and he quickly shoved her inside, sliding the door shut behind her. Hally heard him grunt again outside the cell before his heavy footsteps disappeared back down the corridor, leaving her all alone.

Hally looked around the tiny, grey, damp cell.

_Great._

* * *

_**165 days since Koschei disappeared…** _

_**12 days since I was wrongly imprisoned.** _

It'd been 12 days since Hally had eaten.

It'd been 12 days since Hally had spoken to anyone.

12 days since she'd seen any form of life… apart from the small purple spider, she had found in the corner of her cell.

12 days since she'd showered…

She sighed loudly and stretched out her back on the cold floor. Every now and then she'd heard guards escorting other prisoners in and out. They'd always ignored her when she'd tried to shout obscenities at them.

It was strange, whenever they took a prisoner out… it was always a different one brought back in.

For the first few days, she'd tried to contact The Master through their bond but she'd only received silence. He must have been too far away. She'd considered the possibility of just blasting her way out. However, the door had ended up being heavier than she'd anticipated and while she might have been able to successfully 'get angry' and blow down the door. She wasn't sure she'd then be ready for whatever was on the other side. Plus… there really aren't many ways off a _prison_ planet.

Hally lifted up her head in surprise as her door began to slide open. Two burly guards stood on the other side of her door.

 _Huh…I guess they_ **do** _all look like that._

She quickly scrambled to get up as one of the giants took a step into her cell. He smirked and took her by the upper arm. His massive hand looked like it could crush her bone should he be so inclined. She was marched out of her room and down the miserable grey corridor. The guard was pulling her along so quickly that Hally had to jog on tip-toes just to not trip over. The prison was like a maze and after about the seventeenth left turn Hally was completely disorientated. Finally, the guard pushed open a heavy black door, on the other side was a hexagonal room, full of people. Hally looked around frantically, it seemed to be a mixture of prisoners, guards and… others. Some were dressed all in black, it was a military-type uniform but not of any squadron she'd ever seen. Some were in full suit jackets. What the hell was this?

The guard manoeuvred Hally into the middle of the room, where Hally could now see a small stage had been set up. Her guard pulled her up onto the stage before releasing her, leaving her stood with what she now realised was the rest of the prisoners. Most of the guards then weaved their way through the small crowd and exited as quickly as they had come, those that remained stood unmoving at the doors to the room.

Hally looked around her, bewildered. A small man was inspecting each of the prisoners individually, for some he would get out a measuring tape and start measuring. Others he would just straightaway assign a number. As he made his way around each prisoner, Hally began to feel more and more uneasy. She stole a quick look at the small crowd that was now circling the stage, from what she could see at least 90% of the attendees were carrying weapons. She locked eyes with a middle-aged looking man, he was dressed in the black military attire. He flashed her a predatory smirk before turning to what must have been an associate, whispering something in his ear. The associate, also dressed in black, chuckled to himself, looking Hally up and down appreciatively. Hally tensed her jaw, looking away from the pair.

_This is very very bad._

The small man scuttled over and stood in front of her, looking her up and down in a more matter of fact way. He made a small sound of confirmation before ripping off a number from his papers in front of him, slapping it onto her arm. She jumped slightly and tried to back up behind a few other prisoners, bumping into a rather muscular figure behind her, the humanoid simply hissed at her, flashing a serpent-like tongue. Hally shuffled back to where she'd been standing before, the small man had now made his way down off the stage and had picked up a small round microchip. He stuck it in between his collar bones and coughed. His voice now amplified around the room.

Hally tried to slow her breathing, her hearts were both nervously fluttering in her chest. What she wouldn't give for The Master to appear now.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" He announced, everyone in the room quietened to listen. "Welcome. It looks like we certainly have a lot of fighters in the room tonight!" He grinned charismatically, motioning to the stage, which _was_ largely made up large, burly men. Hally swallowed awkwardly.

"But, there's something for everyone." The small, presenter-man sent Hally a wink. A few of the crowd members laughed. "Sweet. Although we are told that she was sent here after killing one of her squadron!" He gasped dramatically. "So perhaps a fighter yet!" He choked out a fake laugh, turning back to the 'audience'.

Hally's eyes flickered around the crowd.

_No friendly faces here._

She knew exactly what this was. She had to get out of here.

"Now, number 201… very strong guy. Almost took out 3 of our guards this one! Bidding is starting at 500 Phliox's!" The presenter approached a terrifying-looking creature, his skin was bright red and his face resembled that of a beetle. Hally looked around the remaining prisoners as the auction continued on. Surely if they all decided to fight their way out they might stand a chance? Hally then remembered the labyrinth of tunnels and the fact that the entire planet was full of them. She fiddled nervously with her fingernails.

The presenter was cut off halfway through bargaining for number 213 by the predatory middle-aged man in the blacks. "Oi! Hurry up and get to the girl will you!" There was a low hum of approval from the crowd. "Some of us want to get her home early…" He sent her a wink. Hally paled and had to swallow down the bile that rose in her throat.

The small presenter laughed. "Well, since you're so keen." He considered her for a moment. "Let's start at 2,500 Philox's!" Hally tried to take a small step back, the man merely laughed.

"Done!" He raised his hand to the presenter, who nodded. Looking around the crowd for any counteroffers.

"2,600!" Came a call from the back, a tall, slim man, wearing dark glasses. Hally wrapped her arms around herself tightly. Panic building in her chest.

The man, who by his attire, Hally assumed was some kind of missionary smirked. "Cut the crap. 3,500!"

"Come on sweetheart, I promise not to bite." He grinned hungrily at her.

Something inside her snapped and Hally lunged herself at the man. There was a sharp intake from the crowd and a few even reached for their weapons but Hally had already barrelled into him. It was taking all her concentration to not completely lose it and send him flying across the room. Instead, she focused her energy into her strength, easily flooring him with a well-aimed punch to the back of the knee. Once on the ground, Hally grabbed his arm, twisting it painfully into his back. He let out an undignified scream as his arm broke with a satisfying snap.

She jumped up to her feet, dodging one of the guards as they made a swipe for her. Instead, she ducked and stealthily pulled a gun from the holster of one of the suits. Aiming it quickly at the presenter.

People stood around her gasped and took a few steps back, almost tripping over one another. The presenter gave her a sympathetic look.

"Now, now. There's absolutely no scenario where this ends well for you. Put it down, dear." Hally swallowed, noticing that all the guards were now pointing blasters in her direction. She stood her ground, gripping her gun tightly.

From out of the crowd, stepped a pale humanoid. He was wearing a pinstriped grey suit and was carrying a cane. He looked barely older than Hally.

"Finchly, dearest…" He drawled towards the presenter. "Let me." He took a step towards Hally, and into the sight of her gun. He flashed her a charming smile. "That was quite something." He smiled knowingly at her. "Let me make you a deal, sweetheart. Give me the gun. And I'll buy you." He looked over his shoulder to _Finchly,_ the presenter. "…say 3,600, will that do?"

The presenter nodded, watching amusedly. "Sounds about right."

He turned back and held out his hand, motioning for Hally to give him the gun. "Come, come. We don't have all day." Hally waivered, fear flashing across her eyes. He obviously picked up on it because he chuckled patronisingly.

"Don't worry. I won't _touch_ you." He smiled sweetly, beckoning for her with his fingers.

Hally took a deep breath, not seeing another choice and stepped forward slowly, lowering the gun into his hand. He grinned and with his other hand, quickly caught her wrist. He turned back to Finchly. "Just charge the usual account dearest." Hally began to pull at his grip weakly. He sighed dramatically and turned back to her.

"Please don't. This is going to be a lot easier if I don't have to carry you out of here…" His eyes twinkled impatiently. Hally pulled harder, almost pulling him off balance.

"If you _want,_ I'll happily leave you with one of these gentlemen… but trust me they have much more _imaginative_ uses for you." Hally cried out angrily and in a desperate attempt, bit down hard on his hand.

"Ah!" He let her go suddenly. He began to laugh. "Oooh, I like this one!" He clicked his fingers and two of his associates appeared from the crowd behind Hally.

She felt a sharp scratch on the side of her neck and suddenly everything went black


	16. Part 1 - Chapter 16

_**167 days since Koschei disappeared…? Could be more.** _

Hally stirred against the hard, damp floor beneath her. She blinked open her eyes, adjusting to the darkness. It felt like she'd been hit over the head with a hardback book.

She groaned softly, sitting herself up and taking in her surroundings. Again, she was in a cell. Although this one was more like a cage, thick bars lined three sides, they were firmly fitted into the wall behind her. There was barely any light in the room, just a slither coming in from the doorway and Hally could definitely smell mould, there must have been water nearby.

The door on the far side of the room creaked open painfully and the light from the corridor outside bathed the room in a weak orange glow. The silhouette of a man now stood in the doorway, he was holding a cane. He made his way over to the front of her cell, pulling up a stool and sitting down as he did so.

"How's my scrappy fighter doing, hey?" Hally could hear the grin in his voice, even if she couldn't really see his face.

"Where am I?" Hally strained her ears, she could hear voices fairly close by.

"Oh I'm so sorry. I never had chance to introduce myself, did I?" Her 'buyer' ignored her question, leaning in closer. He pushed a hand through the bars as if to shake her hand. He paused, looking down at the still visible bite marks over the back of his hand. He chuckled, pulling his hand away.

"Maybe not." He brushed himself down. "Anyway. My name is Mr Cairn" He smiled enthusiastically. "And you, young lady are going to make me a lot of money."

Hally narrowed her eyes, shifting so she was kneeling, and leaning back on her heels. "What do you mean…?" She asked slowly.

He chuckled. "No need to look so suspicious." He examined the back of his hand thoughtfully. "I still can't believe you _bit_ me." He smiled to himself, obviously amused.

Hally scowled, she didn't like how he was playing with her. "You promised you wouldn't touch me." She hissed out. She hated how she almost sounded like a child, trying to reason with an adult.

Cairn chuckled. "Oh sweetheart." He shook his head patronisingly. "I was meaning I wouldn't _touch_ you how the rest of the men in that room wanted to touch you." He smirked, Hally frowned. "Non-consensual sex really doesn't do it for me." His smirk widened as he pretended to examine his nails. When Hally didn't respond, he continued.

"We are on Kashyik!" He grinned, clapping his hands together dramatically. Hally raised an eyebrow. Kashyik was in the same constellation as Gallifrey, she was closer to home that she'd thought. Kashyik had once been a simple trading planet, with fairly good relations with Gallifrey but once the war had broken out the planet had been all but destroyed. Hally had thought that it'd been abandoned… but it would seem it had simply been repurposed.

"And what is on Kashyik…?" She asked quietly. Cairn pressed his palms together, pointing his fingers at Hally.

"Why only the most popular event in the galaxy!" He grinned. "Oh come on. We're all at _war._ Everyone wants in on the action, and this is the next best thing! Why go and get yourself killed when you can come here and watch 14 less than innocent convicts kill each other!" He laughed, spreading his arms out wide as if it was the best thing in the world.

Hally blinked. "What?" Cairn pouted sympathetically.

"Oh don't worry dearest, I have the utmost faith in you." He grinned. "And, what's better. If you win tonight, we will win so much money…that I can set you free?" He cocked an eyebrow. "How about that, huh?"

Hally licked her lower lip, the noise from above had been growing louder and louder and now Hally could almost picture the large audience arriving for that nights _entertainment._

"I can't…" She muttered, Cairn just rolled his eyes. "No. I mean… you can't. I-…" Hally swallowed. "I'm protected?" She didn't mean for it to come out like a question. "I need you to send a message. To An Garradh. I'm protected… you can't do this!" She cried out in frustration, getting to her feet and hitting on the thick, cold bars that separated them.

Cairn didn't even flinch, he just chuckled to himself. "Oh my dear. Even if I cared enough to do as you ask. An Garradh is gone. Disappeared. Kaput." He smirked. "Now, now. We've got to get you ready!" He jumped to his feet, doing up the button of his suit jacket. He took a step forward and pulled out a rusty silver key from his inside jacket pocket. "Try not to bite." He winked and unlocked the door to her cage. He then took a step back, motioning for Hally to step out in front of him. She looked from the unlocked door and to him again, he raised an eyebrow, a spark of danger flashing behind his eyes. He was almost daring her to try something.

Hally looked down at the floor and slowly moved out of the cage, she heard Cairn make a small noise of praise before she felt his cool hand on her lower back. Gently but forcefully guiding her to the end of the room and through the curtained archway. He led her past a few similar looking rooms with holding cells inside before he turned her into another corridor, pushing her up a few sets of deep staircases. The whole place looked like it'd been abandoned a long time ago, water marks stained most of the walls, the staircase was flecked with dirt and… was that blood? Eventually Cairn steered her into a small, empty room. The window was covered with a black sheet but Hally could see artificial light was trying to break through. From behind Cairn, a silvery skinned man entered the room. He was carrying a small bag which he passed over to Cairn.

"Thank you." Cairn grinned, examining the contents of the bag. "Perfect." He chucked the bag at Hally's feet. "Time for you to change." His eyes flashed impatiently. Hally looked between the two, but the silver man simply exited the room without a word. She bent down, picking up the bag and taking out the contents. It was a very skimpy looking catsuit, Hally scoffed and looked up at Cairn. She opened her mouth to protest but Cairn held up a finger. "Ah, ah, ah. This is a _perfect_ look for you. After all, you're really going to want to get the spectators on your side." He flashed her a toothy grin. She let out a low growl from the back of her throat. He chuckled and, sending a mock bow her way, turned around to face the other wall, allowing her to change.

Hally blushed furiously as she held up the outfit. Letting out a small sigh of defeat, she slipped out of her clothes and pulled the jumpsuit on with a soft groan. She looked down at herself, wincing. The top half was short sleeved, a quite intricate design of small rips in the fabric left almost all of her skin on show underneath the material. Luckily it had been designed so that at least her modesty was intact. She tried to stretch behind her to do up the zip at the back. She huffed. "I need a hand." She bit out.

Cairn turned and his face lit up with pride. "Oh yes, you look exceptional." He circled around her slowly. Hally tensed as she felt his hands brush her back as he zipped the catsuit up. There was a small pause before she felt him tug at the band around her hair, it fell out of the tidy bun it'd been placed in, her hair falling down her back. "Much better." She heard him whisper from behind her.

At that moment the silver skinned man returned, carrying a long and heavy rolled up leather material. He placed it onto the floor and unrolled it in front of both Hally and Cairn. It was lined with at least 20 different varieties of what looked like primitive sword types. A mixture of short daggers and long, thin pointed swords. Hally looked up to Cairn, his eyes twinkled back. "Take your pick. Maximum of two." He motioned for Hally to approach the laid out weapons, she did so. Flicking her eyes over each of the options carefully. She'd never even seen most of these weapons, let alone used them. Hally bit her lip and leant down to pick up two small, thin daggers. She weighed each one in her hands. They seemed to be quite well balanced, and she figured they might be easier to use that some of the larger, more deadly looking swords.

Cairn chuckled from behind her. "As you wish." He waved the other man out of the room and took the daggers from her hands. "Can't have you stabbing me in the back." He winked and laughed at his own joke as if it was hilarious. Hally gritted her teeth and let Cairn lead her out of the room and up a further set of stairs to a long corridor. Hally could hear the shouts of the crowd just on the other side of the door. Two men carrying blasters took their place either side of her.

_No going back now._

"I'm afraid, little one. This is where we part." Cairn smiled hopefully and passed her daggers back over to her. "I'll be watching." He winked. "Don't die." And with that, he slapped her on the back and disappeared up further flights of stairs.

Hally swallowed, suddenly very aware of the sound of her own breathing. One of the men behind her nudged her forwards and she took that as a hint to start walking towards the door.

_Don't die._

_Yes._

_Good plan._

Hally took in a deep breath as the door was flung open and she was shoved through into the blinding lights of an arena. She winced and had to cover her eyes for a second before her eyes adjusted. The noise of the crowd was deafening, she looked up and around. She was stood on the edge of a dark sandy arena, high, rusty metal walls lined the large circular pit. Spectators lined every inch of the walls, Hally tried to strain to see them, she was pretty sure there were Time Lord and Shabogan military garb in the sea of colour that surrounded her.

There was another loud cry from the audience and Hally remembered that she wasn't alone in the arena. Scanning the 13 other people, Hally tried to quickly identify any weaknesses. A lot of them were large and muscular, perhaps that meant they were slow? There were a few other women, men dressed all in armour – their faces covered with brightly coloured helmets. Hally swallowed, her mouth painfully dry. Before she could formulate any kind of plan an ear-splitting bang sounded from what looked like a VIP spectator box up in the stands. The other fighters in the arena began to move, Hally flinched as a woman, dressed in bright red armour, threw a heavy looking dagger straight into the chest of a half droid, half humanoid. Everything seemed to quieten to a steady ringing in Hally's ears, the sound of her own breath felt like it was deafening.

Hally began to run, she dodged the swing of a huge creature that had obviously decided she looked like easy prey. Hally had to jump back to dodge another attack, the creature swung its huge hand down to try and squash her. In a moment of inspiration, Hally slipped through the legs of the creature, spinning quickly on her knees and slashing out with one of her daggers. The creature let out a cry of agony as she sliced through all the ligaments in the back of its knee. It sank to the ground, unable to walk.

The crowd let out a cry of joy and Hally looked up, they were cheering for her victory. Adrenaline surged through her blood but before she could catch her breath, she sensed the trajectory of a blade coming towards her. Hally shifted her body to the right, narrowly missing the sharp dagger that had been thrown at her. It was the lady in red again, who had now turned her attention on Hally. The woman roared in anger at Hally's dodge and went to throw her second dagger. Hally stood her ground and watched as the woman threw the blade, screaming as she did so. Hally braced, and just as the dagger was about to get within a meter of her, she leant slightly to the side. She felt the dagger slow under the pull of her concentration, and just as it went to fly past her again, Hally reached out and caught it.

Smirking, she looked up at the woman who was now sprinting towards her. She flipped the dagger over in her hand and threw it back with all the speed she could muster. Hally winced as the woman let out a scream as the dagger embedded itself in her shoulder, the force of the throw knocking her back to the floor. Another huge beast of a figure took the opportunity and threw down a deadly hit of its fist onto the poor woman's head. Hally gasped, putting a hand over her mouth. The hulking creature then fixed its gaze on her. She took a step back instinctively, quickly looking around for some kind of escape route. There were only four of them left alive at this point… including a duo who were locked in what looked to be a ruthless sword fight at the other end of the arena. Hally tried to dart to the left of the beast but it was faster than she'd anticipated. With a quick swing of the hand it knocked Hally off the ground and into the wall of the arena.

Hally grabbed at her torso, a splintering pain shattering through her as she crashed into the metal of the wall. She dropped onto her hands and knees, her breath wheezing painfully. Before she could get her bearings, a thick hand wrapped around her neck and she was pushed back into the wall. She tried to kick out at the arm holding her up but the beast merely growled, releasing her away from the wall to push her even harder against it. There was a loud crack as the back of Hally's head connected with the metal. Her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she felt herself drop to the floor as the beast left her crumpled where she'd fallen, to face the now only remaining fighter left standing.

Hally rolled onto her back, she could feel the pain in her chest easing up and she gently touched the back of her head. Hally brought her now bloodstained hand back in front of her face. She groaned painfully. A tremendous roar from the crowd signalled to Hally that the fight must have been over. She whimpered.

_No. I'm NOT losing this._

_Not today!_

Hally tried to ignore the throbbing pain radiating from the back of her skull and she pushed herself up until she stood unsteadily on her legs. Turning around she saw that one of the sword wielders had killed the large beast, his dirty blonde mop of hair was currently facing Hally as he raised his hands to the spectators, basking in their cheers for his victory. Hally picked up one of her daggers that had fallen to the ground and with what strength she had left she threw it towards the man. The harsh clang of metal on metal echoed through the arena as her dagger struck the base of his sword. There was an excitable gasp from the audience as they returned their attention to her, following by more screams and applause. The blonde man flinched back as his sword was sent flying to the ground, he turned to see the culprit and let out a cocky laugh upon seeing Hally. He began to saunter towards her, his handsome face pulled into a grin.

Hally quickly picked up her other dagger, the blonde opened his arms out, pouting in disappointment.

"Come on now Princess. Let's make this a fair fight?" He cocked his head to the side. "These guys love a good show!" He cried out, motioning to the spectators, who cried out in encouragement. He took another step forward confidently, Hally took her chance and jumped him, her dagger aiming for his chest. However, he'd been expecting her move so was able to block her easily. He sent a nasty punch into her stomach, causing Hally to double over in pain. He grabbed her hair, pulling her up again. Hally desperately made another lunge for him with the dagger, the blonde laughed and caught her hand with ease. She tried to push against his grip but he was just too strong and Hally was close to losing consciousness. He let out a cruel laugh, bending her wrist so the dagger was now aiming back at Hally's chest. Hally cried out as she tried to use all of her strength to push back against him, he was slowly edging the blade towards her.

She kicked his shin hard, he let out a sharp cry of pain. The grip he had on her wrist loosened and Hally quickly dropped the dagger from her right hand, ducking and catching it with her left. She lunged forward and finally felt contact as she stabbed it deep into his stomach. He let out a breathless cry of pain, falling onto his knees.

But Hally didn't dwell, she instantly pulled the dagger out of his stomach and backhanded the hilt of it into the side of his head. Knocking him out cold.

The noise of the crowd totally overwhelmed her senses, Hally doubled over and coughed violently, spitting out some blood. A rough hand took her by the arm, Hally snapped back up, instinctively pulling at the restraint. It was one of the doormen, he grunted at her and Hally allowed him to escort her out of the arena. Instead of going back down the stairs to where the cells were, Hally was pulled further up and away from the pit. "Where are we going?" She asked breathlessly.

"Spectators box. Mr C wants you up there." Hally pulled a face, looking down at herself. She was covered in dirt and blood that was a mixture of her own and _many_ others. She let out a noise of disgust, did Cairn have no tact at all?!

The door to the box was pulled open and Hally was pushed through. This room was a lot nicer than any other she'd been in for a long time. It had beautiful glass walls which were draped with rich, red curtains. There was a bar lining one side of the room and seats facing out towards the arena on the other. People were now milling about, some buying drinks, some sat socialising in their chairs. A few people turned to look at Hally as she stood gawkily at the entrance. A squeal of delight to her left caught her attention and Cairn practically skipped over towards her.

"Oh my dear! You were fantastic!" He grinned, he almost went to hug her but seeing her filthy attire, thought better of it and just gave her an awkward pat on the arm. "Not that I ever doubted you wouldn't be!" He laughed, obviously lying. "You have made me a very rich and very happy man." He grinned. He clicked his fingers and one of his assistants appeared carrying two crystal, flute glasses of a baby blue liquid. "A toast… to the most fantastic investment." He laughed, handing her a glass, chinking his against hers before downing the contents. Hally looked back, unsure. She took a sip, it was actually quite nice… although now it was burning the back of her throat. She coughed awkwardly.

"Now, dear." He suddenly changed and straightened up, his face falling serious. "Back to business. I know I promised you that if you won this… well that'd be you done. Free as a little birdie." Hally grit her teeth, her fists tensing up.

"However… I didn't actually expect you to survive…let alone win!" He laughed loudly. "So now we've got a bit of an issue, because I've just taken a hell of a lot of money from someone _very_ interested in exploiting your assets further." He smiled sweetly. The glass in Hally's hand shattered, pieces of glass falling to the floor. Hally screamed in anger through her teeth and grabbed at the front of Cairn's immaculate suit. She pulled him roughly towards her and stuck the remainder of the broken flute glass that was in her hand, up against his neck. The glass just taut enough to draw a small trickle of blood from his neck.

He let out a small shriek of surprise, his eyes widening. "Now, now… let's not do anything rash." He let out a pathetic little laugh but Hally wasn't listening. She was staring at the blood now trickling down Cairn's neck. One tiny push and this lying scumbag would be dead. Hally tensed her arm, accepting that she was going to have to kill him.

"As your new _Master_ I command you: release him." A deep, unfamiliar voice sounded from behind her.

She didn't know what it was, perhaps it was the cool confidence with which the voice spoke, but Hally slowly turned to face the newcomer. As she locked eyes with him, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

It was him.

He was different. But it was him.

The Master.

Her Master.

She released Cairn who let out an indignant huff, straightening out his suit. "So ungrateful…" He muttered. Striding up The Master, he shot Hally a glare. "Good luck to you." He huffed again dramatically before stalking off.

Hally was just staring at The Master. He fought the urge to laugh and instead calmly offered her his arm.

"I think it's about time we get out of this dive. Don't you?" Hally took his arm weakly, he could feel her shaking as she gripped at his overcoat. The Master led her quietly to the exit, a few people shot them strange looks but no one tried to stop them. Hally wasn't really paying attention to their surroundings, just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. Letting herself go wherever he was taking them. He eventually stopped outside a militarised TARDIS, it had been disguised as an ordinary blocked off archway. The Master unlocked the door, gently leading Hally inside, she looked around silently before turning back to him. She opened her mouth to say something but tears sprung into her eyes and caught in her throat.

"Shhh…" He muttered softly, taking her into his arms. She hid her face against his chest, he could feel her breath coming out in shaky gasps. He held her quietly for a few moments before her muffled voice broke the silence.

"How did you know where I was…?" He gently stroked the back of her head with his hand, wincing when he felt the hair matted in with her own blood.

He sighed softly, flexing his jaw. "I didn't." He shrugged. "I'd heard a rumour… of a feisty female fighter." He smirked proudly. "Thought I'd check her out."

Hally let out a huff. "Thought you'd _check her out._ Did you?" She looked up at him, narrowing her eyes at him.

He laughed at the unamused expression on her face. "Stop being such a prude." He shook his head, letting out a quiet sigh. The Master pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes.

"You didn't need to 'buy' me." She huffed out, an undignified whine edging into her voice.

"Trust me I did." He teased. He was relieved when he felt her laughing softly against his chest.

"What happens now…?" She asked after a small silence. The Master opened his eyes, smiling.

"Well, as acting General for Attack Squadron 55…"

Hally shook her head in exasperation, muttering. "Of course you are…"

He continued, "I'd very much like to offer you a place on my team. We've got a new position that just opened for a highly strung, mouthy, 'wonder woman'."

Hally rolled her eyes, pouting irritably. "Shut up and come here." With that she pulled at the collar of his overcoat, crashing her lips down on his.


	17. Part 1 - Chapter 17

Hally stepped out of the open-plan shower, drying herself off and wrapping herself in robe. After about half an hour she'd finally managed to away scrub all of the dirt and dried blood off of her skin. She checked herself in the large square mirror on the dark marble wall. She looked ill, she could see through the robe that her collarbones were sticking out more than they used to, and her face was looking gaunt and pale.

Pulling the robe tighter around herself, Hally padded out into The Master's sleeping quarters. They weren't too dissimilar from his room on Gallifrey, relatively simple in style. The marble décor continued from the bathroom throughout, with a dark marble desk and counters. A double bed stood proudly in the centre of the room, a large mirror encasing the wall behind it, with two bookcases lined with books either side. There was pleasant chill that ran throughout the room.

As she entered, she could see that The Master was sat on one of two chairs in the corner, next to the desk. He was flicking a thin weapon over in his hands carefully.

"What is that?" Hally moved over to the seat opposite him, lowering herself down comfortably.

"My new invention." He sent her a smile, holding the item up so she could see. "Laser screwdriver."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why do you need a screwdriver at all?"

The Master laughed, placing the screwdriver down gently on the small coffee table between them. His eyes roamed up to her face, he frowned.

"Your head was bleeding, turn around and let me look at it." Hally opened her mouth to explain but The Master had already stood and circled round behind her chair. She felt his fingers gently run through her hair, trying to find the gash on her scalp. A small shiver ran down her spine.

"Sooo…" Hally started. "Update. I heal. Like really quickly." She shrugged, turning in her chair to look up at The Master. He was smiling with intrigue.

"Healing now?" He sounded almost impressed. "That certainly explains a lot." Then he paused, as if a thought had just occurred to him. The Master made a small humming noise, his eyes flickering down her body before sitting back down opposite her.

Hally nodded. "Yeah, I got shot in the back by a Dalek. Sort of surprised everyone by not… you know…dying." She smiled wryly.

He chuckled softly. "Yes. We mere Time Lord Mortals have to go through the faff of regeneration." He raised his eyebrows mockingly.

Hally laughed, blushing slightly. "Well you seem to have come out of it alright." She smiled coyly. "Although I will miss your old bod-" She coughed, "appearance."

Hally bit her lip as heat spread over her face. The old incarnation of The Master had certainly been…attractive.

_Yes._

Hally coughed.

_I mean this one's not too bad either…_

This new version wasn't all that dissimilar from the last, he still had a strong, defined face, thin lips and dark wavy hair that seemed to always be in the perfect place. But now, he was more muscular than before, at least that's how he looked underneath the dark uniform he was wearing. His shoulders were broader. Hally chewed on the inside of her mouth as she imagined what he looked like underneath that uniform. The Master raised an eyebrow slowly in amusement, and Hally, realising she'd been staring at him for a while, blushed furiously. Looking down at her hands, a jolt of nerves rushing down into her lower abdomen.

The Master smirked and leant over the table, picking up the ripped up catsuit she'd discarded in the corner.

"You know, I think I might keep this." He mulled it over in his hands.

"You did look rather fetching."

Hally huffed and instantly leant over to try and snatch it from him but he quickly moved his hand out of her reach, smirking as he did so. Hally let out a small groan, getting up and leaning further across the table but he just pulled it further out of her reach.

"Urgh." Hally flopped back into the seat, crossing her arms.

"Yes…" He considered her further, "…and can I just say, watching you take out those outlaws in the arena…" The Master crossed one leg over the other, leaning back into his chair. "…was one hell of a turn on." He grinned impishly as Hally's face flushed bright red.

She opened her mouth to retort but found that nothing was successfully coming out. So she just closed it awkwardly.

The Master laughed softly, revelling in her discomfort.

"You're being cruel." She said haughtily.

"You're being a prude." He countered, smirking.

"No. I. Am. Not." Hally growled and stepped over the table to try and snatch back the catsuit he was still holding onto. The Master used her lack of balance to his advantage, catching her hip and pulling her swiftly onto his lap. She shrieked and tried to scramble off. He threw the item of clothing behind him, trapping her on top of him with both of his hands at her hips.

Hally was breathing heavily, heat spreading across her chest. She shifted on his lap trying to pull her chest away from his. The Master flexed his jaw slightly, sending her a dark look. She stilled, her eyes widening. The Master moved one of his hands to her knee, slowly stroking his fingers up the inside of her thigh.

Hally let out a sharp breath with a shudder. "Koschei…" She whispered. His hand stopped.

"Call me by my name." His deep voice reverberated through his chest. All sense of mischief had now vanished.

Hally watched as his brown eyes darkened.

Hally let a small smile pull at her mouth.

"Make me." She whispered.

The grip on her thigh tightened instantly, The Master let out a low growl.

"I wouldn't recommend making comments like that… if you're not ready to take the consequences." His voice was barely a whisper and he was looking at her so intensely that Hally almost faltered. Her hearts were hammering in her chest and it felt like all the blood was rushing to her lower abdomen. She considered him for a moment, a warm feeling spread through her chest at the knowledge that despite his own…situation, he was still offering her a way out.

But she knew, she'd known for a while now. She wanted him with all of her hearts.

"As I said." Hally rocked her hips forward.

"Make me."

The Master didn't need telling twice. Hally gripped him tightly when she suddenly found herself being lifted up into the air. He manoeuvred them over to the bed swiftly, Hally felt her back hit the silk sheets as The Master sat back on his heels, kneeling up on the bed. He stared down at her for a moment, Hally swallowed and started to squirm under his intense gaze, her hands ghosted across her robe, pulling it around her tighter.

The deep rumble in the back of The Master's throat should have been enough of a warning but Hally still let out a small whine when both of her hands were pried away from her robe. The Master pushed her hands up above her head, imprisoning them there with his own hand. He hovered over her, trailing his gaze across her face. She could feel him nudging at the edges of her mind, she opened up her mind to him. A small smirk pulled at his lips, his eyes darkening.

"Look at you. I haven't even touched you."

Hally flushed deeply, her breathing hitched. She hated the sound of the small whine that escaped her lips. The Master trailed his free hand over her cheek, gently caressing her face. His hand softly brushed down her neck, over her collarbone. He slipped a finger underneath the fabric of her robe, slowly trailing it lower over her stomach. Hally arched her back slightly as his touch left a pleasant burning sensation on her skin. He continued down until he got to the loose fastening of the robe, he slowly pulled the fabric open, leaving her totally exposed. She struggled against his tight grip on her hands, he pushed on her lower abdomen, pushing her back down.

"Stay. Still." His voice was barely a whisper. Hally bit her lower lip, curling her toes. She let out a small impatient moan. The Master laughed darkly but Hally noticed the slight strain in his jaw.

"Why are you still wearing so many clothes...?" She managed to mutter breathlessly. She lifted up her hips, rocking them against him, trying to relieve some of the tension between her legs. The Master's nostrils flared and he grabbed at her hip, pushing her back down, he let out a soft moan as he looked back down at her. Her skin was hot and a gorgeous red flush was splaying across her chest.

Hally tried again to wriggle her hands free. She needed to touch him. Having him so close, being so vulnerable beneath him was almost too much, it was driving her senses crazy. "...I...need."

The Master let out a heavy breath, he lent down, catching her lips in a possessive kiss. His hand moved from her hip to slide behind her head, he wrapped his fingers through her hair. Hally could feel that he was holding her steady, a light pressure on the back of her head.

"Hally..." He groaned softly into the kiss. "I know exactly what you need." He forcefully rocked his hips against hers. He pressed his forehead against hers as she moaned softly. "But... I'm trying really... really hard... to be... _gentle._ " Hally looked up into his eyes, he stared back, his pupils wide.

"Oh..." She whispered, blushing.

She let out a short laugh, her breath fanning across The Master's face. He raised an eyebrow dangerously.

"Sorry..." She smirked. "I just didn't realise I had _such_ an effect on you." She teased. "... _and I haven't even touched you."_

"Shut up..." He growled, attacking her mouth.

He'd make sure that that was the last coherent thing she'd say for the rest of the night.

* * *

Hally woke late the next morning, the duvet wrapped around her tightly. She felt so warm, it'd been the first good night's sleep she'd had since The Master had been taken. She stirred, stretching out against the soft sheets. That was when she felt the sharp twinge of pain in between her legs.

"Ow…" She tried to sit herself up but found that that only caused the dull ache in her lower abdomen to worsen.

"Ow?" The Master asked casually as he came back into the room from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist.

Hally just groaned back in response, flopping back down on the bed. She heard him chuckle darkly as he made his way over to the bed. "Oh… _Ow…_?" She could hear the smug grin in his voice. Hally groaned inwardly as she felt a blush creep up her neck. She felt the duvet get pulled off of her, exposing her skin to the chilly air.

"Hey!" She protested.

The Master ignored her, instead grabbing one of her feet, leaning on the edge of the bed he unceremoniously pried her legs apart, considering her. "Interesting." He muttered under his breath.

Hally looked at him incredulously. "What! Get off! What the hell are you talking about, _interesting_?!" The Master ignored her, running a finger up the inside of her thigh, touching her gently.

"Ow!" She wriggled away from him. "That's sore! Don't touch… _there._ " Hally whined, freeing her foot from his grasp. He rolled his eyes at her tone.

"It would seem you've got some level of subconscious control over this new healing ability." He shot her a knowing smirk before turning away from the bed and opening the wardrobe on the right-hand side of the room.

Hally closed her mouth, not realising it'd been agape. She looked over at him scandalously. "You can't just…" Hally waved her hands around energetically, motioning towards her legs. The Master just laughed, taking out a clean, pressed General's uniform.

Hally slipped off the bed, now that her snuggly cocoon had been ruined, and headed into the bathroom.

"Get dressed! We're due near Durilium in 20 minutes." He called from the room. Hally huffed and rolled her eyes.

 _Thanks for letting me know!_ She thought.

She heard The Master snort from the bedroom. _"I heard that."_ His voice echoed in her head.

Hally showered quickly and after searching The Master's closet for something that she could wear, made her way into the control room, where The Master was now fiddling with the controls.

"So what are we after on Durilium?" She asked, stepping around the console, watching him.

"There's a planned attack on one of the smaller Dalek fleets that are circulating through the constellation of Pyrovan." Hally nodded slowly.

"Umm, you do know that last time I came face to face with _one_ Dalek I almost died right?" She bit her lip, looking at him like he'd grown an extra head.

He shook his head and smiled, shooting her a look. "Yes, but this time you're not going to have to hide your _advantage._ " She raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"They're my squadron, they do and say what they're told." He added finally.

Hally leant on the console, crossing her arms across her chest. "Oh really? Does that mean I have to do as _I'm_ told too?" She bit her lip coyly.

"Yes." He added irritably. She let out a quiet laugh and The Master looked up from the console at her. He cocked his head to one side, stepping closer. "This is war. People get hurt when people don't do as they're told." He narrowed his eyes at her warningly, cupping her chin with one of his hands, he added in a soft voice. "And we wouldn't want me to have to discipline you in front of the entire team, would we?"

He turned away, going back to the console. He flicked a small red lever upwards, the console thrummed as the TARDIS began to dematerialise. Hally rolled her eyes, taking a seat on the small sofa by the console. She took a sharp intake of breath as she felt another twinge of pain and wincing she stood back up. Deciding instead to just lean on the wall…

The Master shot her an odd look before the smug realisation dawned on him. His mouth curled into a small self-satisfied smile.

"Shut up." She shot back at him, transferring her weight into her other hip.

He laughed to himself, turning back to the console. "There's medication in that cabinet." He waved his hand towards the glass cabinet on the opposite wall, just by the corridor leading further into the TARDIS. Hally scowled and with a small sigh, gave in and made her way to the cabinet. Opening it up, she began to rifle through the contents. Moving each glass vial as she searched for what she was looking for. Finding the small dark blue vial, Hally popped off the top and poured the contents into her mouth. The bitter liquid slid down the back of her throat and Hally shuddered at the nasty aftertaste. Instantly she felt the dull pain fade into nothing, Hally gently stretched out her back just to check. Good as new.

Turning back to the cabinet, Hally frowned, a small inkling of panic entering her mind. "Wait… I'm not on, umm. You know…"

The Master shook his head, sighing at her embarrassment of the subject. "I already took care of it."

Hally raised an eyebrow, making her way back to the console. "That's a little presumptuous?"

The Master sent her a dark, confident look. "It is, isn't it?" He hummed in amusement and Hally heard the unmistakable sound of the TARDIS rematerializing. They had arrived.

The Master quickly exited, Hally jogging to catch up. Coming through the TARDIS doors, first, Hally noticed that they were now stood in what looked like a large aircraft hangar. Multiple smaller Gallifreyan shuttles were parked up, large boxes full of weapons dotted about the room. Secondly, Hally noticed that they weren't alone. Five others were stood waiting for them by the smallest shuttlecraft.

The Master moved confidently over towards them, Hally followed behind cautiously.

"Hal. Meet the rest of the team." The Master flashed her a charming smile, putting her at ease slightly.

"We've got Jax." The Master motioned to a small, short-haired brunette with an angular face. "She's the pilot. Be nice to her." He smirked, pointing to the droid that stood beside Jax, it was at least a head taller than her with long, strong-looking limbs. "That's her co-pilot, FD-2…don't ask."

Hally nodded at Jax politely, the woman sent her a small smile. "Then we've got the muscle." The Master laughed, motioning to a tall, dirty-blonde woman and a handsome brunette man, just a tiny bit taller than The Master. "This is Kal and Tei…don't touch their guns, they get a little tetchy." He whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"And _finally_ we've got Foxer!" The Master clapped the skinny, awkward-looking guy who was currently holding a laptop and a few other technical-looking objects. "I'd say he's the brains… except I'm here." The Master grinned wildly.

Hally rolled her eyes, smiling.

The Master turned back to her. "Everyone, this is Hal. Don't get on her bad side." He sent them all a wide-eyed grin.

"Good to have you on board." Tei smiled kindly, holding out his hand.

Hally shook it. "Thank you." She smiled.

Kal rolls her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest. " _This_ is the infamous 'Queen of the Garden'?"

The Master sent Hally a smirk. "Don't underestimate her. She's annoyingly resilient."

But Kal didn't move, clearly unimpressed. The fighter was gorgeous. Tall and strong with bright blue eyes, Kal looked like a true warrior. Hally looked down at herself, drowned in Koschei's slightly oversized clothes. She could see where the woman was coming from. Perhaps The Master was overestimating how useful she was going to be…

The Master continued, either oblivious to or ignoring the strange tension between the two, and turned back to the small group.

"Is everything set?" He clapped his hands together excitedly.

Foxer nodded, coming forward and unfolding the slim computer he was holding. He powered up the screen.

"Yep. We've got three fighters in position just outside of the blast zone. Once the sonic bomb has been placed in the central system of the mothership, we can remotely detonate it. That'll cause a massive short-circuiting of the Dalek ship shields. That's when we call in the big guys and they blow them all the hell." Foxer smiled. He motioned to the mothership plans that appeared on the screen, scrolling through a blueprint type map.

"I can get us in through the outer ventilation structure in a small shuttle." He pointed at a small opening towards the underbelly of the Dalek ship.

Hally looked between the team, raising an eyebrow. "How are you getting the shuttle through the shields?" Hally asked, feeling like she'd just asked the dumbest question when the entire team turned to look at her.

Foxer smiled slightly. "I believe that's where you come in…" Hally shot The Master a look. He nodded at the team.

"Yep. Once we're in, Fox is going to keep the ship close by for a swift getaway once the bomb is in place. Me, Kal and Hally will move through the ventilators to the central system. Should be easy. In and out." Hally swallowed nervously.

"You're coming with us?" Kal asked, raising an eyebrow at The Master.

"Yes." He flashed Kal a dangerous look.

"Didn't realise this mission needed a babysitter?" She muttered. Jax, the pilot just rolled her eyes at Kal.

"If you've quite finished marking your territory… I'll head back up to the deck. FD-2 will be on comms for any assistance. Hopefully, see you back here in an hour?" Jax nodded at The Master, who nodded back, before heading up out of the hold with the droid.

Hally narrowed her eyes at Kal irritably. The Master clapped his hands.

"Right. Let's move!"

Foxer led them inside the small shuttle. There were just 6 seats and barely enough space for Hally to stand up straight. Foxer loaded in his laptop and a small black box, just bigger than the size of Hally's hand. The edges were smooth, a strange shimmery sheen spread across each side. The sonic bomb.

Hally took her seat opposite The Master as Foxer started up the ship. The side of the hanger slowly slid open and Foxer guided them out. He flicked down a few of the buttons, the lights on the ship went out and the engine sound died down to a low murmur.

The Master sent Hally a small nod, his eyes flickering with a silent instruction. Hally licked her lower lip nervously and holding out the palm of her hand, she focused her energy into it. A small golden orb appeared floating in her hand. Hally breathing out slowly, let her energy and concentration flow down her arm and into her palm. The orb grew larger and brighter, engulfing Hally and continuing to grow until the entire ship was covered in a soft golden glow, keeping the shield inside the ship.

After a few minutes, Hally felt the engine die as they got to the border of the Dalek ship defences. Foxer turned back to face them in the back.

"Ok…let me know when you're ready." He smiled encouragingly, turning back to face forwards, his hands on the controls.

Hally gritted her teeth, concentrating on growing the sphere outside the ship. Into an unknown space that she couldn't see.

_No pressure._

Hally closed her eyes, trying to feel everything around her. She could feel Kal watching, hear Foxer's increased heart rate. She could also hear The Master's calm breathing in front of her. The sphere steadily pushed out through the metal of the shuttle, surrounding the whole thing in a fuzzy golden light. A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of her forehead as she gritted her teeth.

"Go!" She heard The Master bark and the shuttle lurched forward violently. Foxer laughed loudly and Hally snapped open her eyes.

"Nice one kid!" He shouted back at them as he flicked the engines back on, the shuttle now through the barrier.

Hally let in a deep breath, relaxing her mind. The sphere quickly shrunk down and disappeared with a quiet snap.

After a few more minutes, the ship rumbled to a halt.

Kal jumped out of the shuttle first, followed closely by The Master and then Hally. Kal led the way through the ventilation tunnel, quickly scanning every corner for trouble. The tunnels were just tall enough that even The Master could comfortably walk through with ease. Hally could hear the robotic voice of FD-2 giving directions into Kal's earpiece as the team descended further into the ship.

After a few twists and turns, the door in front of them slid up to reveal a huge vertical wind tunnel. They stepped through and Hally looked up and down, the tunnel ascended and descended into complete darkness… no top or bottom visible. At the centre of the tunnel, hung a spherical control panel. The central generator.

Kal turned, having to shout to the pair over the noise of the wind. "And how exactly are we supposed to get over there…!?"

The Master shrugged. "We don't." He called back. He motioned to Kal to pass him the sonic bomb. She passed it over suspiciously. He applied pressure to two of the outer corners, the box clicked open revealing a small white sphere suspended inside the box. The walls of the box folded in on themselves forming a platform on The Master's hand.

Hally looked up at him, he was watching her expectantly. She cottoned on to his train of thought, looking across the large gap to the generator in the middle. Hally huffed, muttering under her breath.

"Are you going to do any work on this mission, or is it all down to me?" Nonetheless, she held out her hand again, focusing on the bomb. Wrapping her consciousness around it she pulled it out of The Master's hand. It was a lot heavier than it looked. Hally grit her teeth, a sharp ache was beginning to form at the base of her skull.

Hally could feel both The Master's and Kal's eyes trained on her intensely. She winced when the pain in the back of her head worsened, she was quickly becoming fatigued. The bomb dipped dangerously but Hally quickly focused her concentration.

" _You can do this."_ The Master's voice echoed in her mind. Hally let out a soft grunt of pain.

Slowly and carefully, she moved the small silver bomb over towards the generator. The wind of the tunnel didn't help either, the bomb was being battered all over the place but Hally pushed on through the pull of the wind. When the sphere was over the generator, Hally lowered it carefully, balancing it just off the centre. Exhausted, her concentration failed and the force she'd been exerting on the sphere suddenly snapped back.

"Ah!" Hally doubled over, gripping the sides of her head as the rebound ricocheted around her mind. The Master hissed in pain as he felt the effects through their bond.

"What the hell is wrong with both of you?!" Kal cried. The Master growled.

"Let's get out of here. Now!" Hally felt The Master grab her arm and hurriedly pull her out of the room back out through the ventilation tunnel to the ship.

Hally still had one hand on the side of her head, she felt like she was going to be sick. Looking up, she could see the shuttle just ahead.

Suddenly, the side of the tunnel exploded and Hally felt herself get ripped out of The Master's grip. The trio were thrown to the floor, the sounds of gunfire overhead. The Master and Kal jumped back up instantly and quickly started firing back at the Daleks that had blasted their way through into the tunnel. They'd been found.

Hally managed to stagger to her feet just in time to see a blast from a Dalek heading towards The Master. Hally pushed out her hands and in a rush of adrenaline and panic, a shimmering golden shield flickered into life in front of him. The blast bounced off noisily, smashing into the Dalek Kal was about to shoot. The Dalek screamed in pain as the blast eroded through its metal armour.

Hally ran forward, pulling up barriers to cover herself, The Master and Kal.

"Move!" She screamed, trying to push them both back up the tunnel to the shuttlecraft that she could still see waiting for them, just a few meters ahead.

Kal didn't need telling twice, she turned and ran for the ship. Hally grabbed The Master by the arm, pulling him back as he continued to fire his laser screwdriver at the half a dozen Daleks that were threatening to surround them.

Another Dalek blast ricocheted off Hally's barrier but the force of the hit pushed her back a few steps, Hally growled angrily.

_Fine._

_They asked for it._

Hally ignored the thumping pain in her head, rounding on the Daleks that remained. Keeping their shields up, Hally cried out angrily, throwing her arm back and pushing a large energy blast at the closest Dalek. The Dalek exploded on impact, a shrill scream filling the tunnel.

The Master looked over to her. A fire was burning behind her eyes and with every Dalek that fell at her feet, he could see the spark of excitement growing inside of her. She was _magnificent_. He grinned, using the Laser Screwdriver to fire at an oncoming Dalek. Hitting it straight in the eye.

Breathless, Hally turned to check on The Master. His grin was infectious.

He was revelling in it, the chaos and the death that was surrounding them.

It should have scared her, it should have made her recoil. But it didn't.

The pair of them, fighting together, she felt invincible. Like nothing in the world could touch them.

It felt amazing.


	18. Part 1 - Chapter 18

The constant rumble of the engines of the S-55 as it flew through the outskirts of the Onyz Constellation was strangely comforting to the team on board. It'd been almost three weeks since Hally had joined The Master's squadron and the surprisingly spacious small ship was beginning to feel like a second home.

She was currently sat cross-legged on the semi-circular booth in the main hub of the ship. Foxer was sat opposite her, his face screwed up in concentration. After a few slow seconds, he reached forward and moved one of his bright blue game pieces three spaces to the left. He grinned happily as he took out two of Hally's dwindling red pieces from the board. Hally let out a small noise of annoyance and shot a glare in Tei's direction as she heard his snort of laughter from behind her.

"You're really terrible at this game…" He grinned playfully, he was leaning on the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Hally pouted, turning back to the board in front, she bit her lip and moved one of her pieces a few spaces to the left to try and avoid it being taken in Foxer's next go.

As Foxer pondered his next move, Hally looked over to the far corner of the room. The Master was sat, one leg over the other, his body slightly curved towards the woman who was sat across from him. Kal laughed at something The Master had muttered. Hally's eyes twitched suspiciously, an angry spark of irritation igniting in her lower belly.

The blonde warrior had been especially _clingy_ over the past week and all the coy little looks she'd been sending his way hadn't gone unnoticed by Hally.

"Your go…" Foxer interrupted. Hally looked back at the board and inwardly winced when she saw that Foxer had managed to take another three of her pieces.

"Are you sure he's not cheating?" She looked back at Tei, sending him a hopeless look. He just laughed and shook his head, amused.

She rolled her eyes and turned back to the board, she looked over to The Master, he was now watching her intently. Hally frowned and moved her piece a few spaces forward, managing to take one of Foxer's pieces as she did. She grinned, overtly pleased with herself, Foxer chuckled softly. Hally looked back over to The Master, but Kal had regained his attention. Hally's jaw twitched.

Before Foxer could take his next move, Jax entered through the door from the cockpit of the ship. Everyone quickly quietened and turned their attention to the pilot who efficiently handed everyone a small electronic tablet. Their screens flickered into life, a 3D map image jumping up out at them.

"We've landed." She said grimly. "We're three klicks from the active battle site. Hally, Fox, once the black hole detonator is in place on enemy ground, you'll send the signal and all the Time Lord squadrons will evacuate. You'll have just under 5 minutes to get out. Kal and The Master will be on the ground helping the front line. I'll pick you all up once you've given the signal."

Hally frowned slightly, flicking her eyes over to The Master.

"This has to be in and out… or we'll all get blown to hell along with the thousands of Daleks on the front line." Jax sent them all a meaningful look. The Master nodded, getting up and taking his laser screwdriver out of his pocket.

"Let's move." At his instruction, the team all got up and got moving. Kal and Foxer heading down to the exit of the ship, Jax back to her cockpit. Hally lingered as Tei moved out towards the exit too, he'd be keeping the ship covered.

The Master started to walk out along with the rest of the team, Hally stepped in beside him. "Remind me why you're paired with her again…?" She muttered, just loud enough for him to hear. He chuckled softly.

"Because Foxer is the most important part of this plan, so I'm sending my best girl to keep him safe." He sent her a small smirk over his shoulder as they climbed down the ramp out of the ship.

The noise of the battle hit their ears before the fresh air could even touch their cheeks. Hally looked up at the sky, it was a dangerous blood red, clouds of dark grey swirled up above them like an angry vortex. The planet stank of death.

The team had been summoned to assist in the front line efforts on the planet of Oixn. However… The Master had designed his own plan. The planet had become overrun with war and with the Daleks proving so far victorious. So, somehow, he had persuaded the Gallifreyan War Council to give his squadron the go-ahead on their own plan. They were going to blow the place into oblivion. Most Time Lord Battle troops had already evacuated, what was left was just a skeleton effort to keep the Daleks busy while Hally and Foxer placed the bomb.

Kal moved over towards The Master. "Time to go." The Master nodded and moved away from Hally, heading directly for the battlefield.

Kal smirked in Hally's direction. "Don't worry… I'll keep him safe so you can get back to just being here to warm his bed." Kal clicked her gun off of safety mode and followed after The Master.

Hally shot her a dirty look, her hands curling into fists. Foxer appeared on her right, gently touching her elbow. "Hey… let's go."

Hally turned to him and nodded, sending one last irritated look at Kal before following Fox off to the right. They would be taking the long way around.

The pair kept low as they snuck their way around the edge of the main battlefield. Hally had erected transparent shields over them both, just to be safe.

Foxer could feel the tense energy oozing out of the young Time Lord behind him. As the pair edged their way along the rocky surface of the trench passage through to the other side of the active site, he turned to send a small smile her way.

"Don't let Kal get to you…" Hally looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

Foxer chuckled. "I think she's just a bit intimidated by you, because… you know. You're powerful and… well… p-… prettier than her. She's not used to that." He frowned and looked to the floor.

"Shit. Don't tell The Master I said that." He nodded at her with wide eyes before turning back to the path.

Hally let out a short laugh, shaking her head.

It took them just under 20 minutes to slip through and into the Dalek encampment. Foxer was an expert at staying low and undetected. After 25 minutes, the black hole detonator was in place.

Foxer activated the communications link on his ear. "It's in place. Ready to initiate countdown on your signal."

Hally heard his voice echo through her own comm. Then the pair waited silently for Jax's go ahead. Hally could hear Foxer's heavy breathing, she looked around anxiously.

"The evacuation signal has been activated. Go ahead guys. Then get the hell out of there!" Jax's voice startled Hally slightly. Foxer pressed the large red button on the top of the detonator, it began to emit a high pitched whine as the countdown began. Foxer took out his tablet, punching in a few lines of code.

"Detonation locked. Let's go!" With that, the pair sprinted from out of their hiding place. There would be no time to take the long route on the way back. They'd have to go straight through the battlefield to meet up with the others in time.

Hally tried to focus her energy on keeping up a shield for both herself and Foxer as they ran out into the crossfire, in plain sight of the whole battalion of Daleks. They swiftly weaved in and out to avoid the bronze and gold tin cans. Blue bolts began whizzing past their heads, Hally could feel a few make contact with their shields but the two kept running. It took her a moment to realise that she was grinning, adrenaline rushed through her veins as the S-55 ship came into view just ahead. She let out a bark of laughter as she ran up to an unsuspecting Dalek, vaulting straight over the top of it. She heard Foxer laugh from just behind her.

She could see Kal and The Master edging their way onto the ramp of the ship, trying to blast a clear path for the two sprinting Time Lords. All the heavy fire was throwing up a hot dust cloud. The wind was catching the dust and spiralling it up around them all.

Hally felt the Dalek blast break her barrier before she heard Foxer's pained scream. She staggered to a stop and turned around just in time to see him fall to the ground.

"No!" She cried out, the dust whirled around them angrily making it harder and harder to breathe. Hally rushed back over to Foxer, turning him over onto his back. He was barely alive, blood was pooling out of his mouth and he coughed as he tried to fight for breath.

"No, no, no…" Hally grabbed his shoulders, she could hear voices shouting furiously over the sound of the wind.

Hally was thrown to the side as Kal rammed the butt of her gun into the side of her head. "Get up! You're going to get us all killed!" The blonde shouted furiously, going to grab Hally's arm.

"I'm not just leaving him!" Hally cried back, trying to crawl back over to Fox.

Kal looked sadly down at their teammate for a second, Fox sent her a small nod and Kal raised her gun to his head.

"NO!" Hally screamed.

Kal was thrown off her feet as Hally let out an explosion of energy, even The Master was pushed back a few paces towards their ship that was hovering impatiently just off the ground. They had less than a minute before the bomb exploded.

Hally looked back down at Foxer, his eyes had begun to roll into the back of his head as he slipped in and out of consciousness. She placed both of her hands over his chest and closed her eyes.

The Master watched as the dust whirled angrily around the pair, the red light from the sky reflected off the dust particles making it look like the air was on fire. He couldn't see either of them now, Kal had a painful grip on his arm as she pulled him onto the ramp of their ship.

"20 seconds…" Jax's voice muttered into the comms.

The Master searched the dust cloud anxiously for any sign of either of them but it was too heavy now. The ship rumbled with strain as Jax started to pull them up into the air. The Master tried to step forward but Kal pulled him back.

"We can't!"

The ship tipped back slightly as a weight grabbed hold of the edge of the ramp. A hand appeared from over the edge and with obvious effort, the person hauled themselves up onto the ramp that was now quickly gaining height away from the surface of the planet. The Master let out a small grunt of relief, which turned to shock when the person straightened up. It was Foxer.

"Where is she?!" The Master cried, panic flashing in his eyes. Foxer let out an exhausted breath and helplessly looked behind him at the still swirling thick wall of dust.

Kal tried to pull both men up the ramp and into the safety of the ship.

Jax's voice rang in their ears. "3…2…"

There was a small flash of bright white light behind the dust cloud as the bomb detonated.

A small dark shadow started to grow in the centre of the blinding light. Kal was pulling him onto the ship, the ramp whined as it fought against the wind, trying to close. But The Master's eyes were transfixed on the shadow. It grew. It grew until it became the unmistakable outline of a person.

Hally's body flung itself onto the ramp just as it was about to close, she was thrown across the floor on impact. Jumping up, Hally sprinted up the ramp and onto the ship just as the doors hissed shut.

"GO!" She screamed through the comms.

Jax was already on it because the next second the ship was jettisoning at top speed away from the crumbling planet beneath them.

Foxer stumbled back and steadied himself against the wall as Hally sank to her knees exhausted.

"Thanks…" He whispered breathlessly, the rest of the team were stood in stunned silence, staring at them both.

Hally nodded, trying to catch her breath. "…yeah."

The sound of Kal's gun clicking rang through the silence, Hally looked up to see the barrel was now pointed at her head.

"You could have gotten us all killed you moron!" Kal shouted, fuming.

Hally winced and raised her hand to bat the barrel away. Her arm was shaking at the effort.

"And here was me thinking you were the one who was meant to protect us? That's two of us you've threatened to shoot now." Hally countered. Her voice cracked.

Kal's eyes flashed furiously. "Well, I can't protect us from suicidal idiots like you!"

Before Hally could spit something back at her, The Master had marched over and hauled her up roughly by the arm. He dragged her along behind him, away from the others. He didn't say a word but Hally could feel his rage, he threw her into their room roughly.

Hally had to catch herself on the wall to stop herself from falling to the floor, she turned back to glare at him, faltering slightly at the look on his face. She'd never seen him so furious, his usually blue eyes had frozen over into a steel cold grey. Hally's hearts skipped a beat in fear before her fight instinct kicked in.

"Oh let me guess, you're siding with blondie? Big surprise!" She cried, the adrenaline refuelling some of her strength.

"You deliberately put us ALL in danger! We could have been blown apart!" The Master shouted back, his nostrils flaring.

"But we weren't! I saved your team member, a little thank you would be nice!" Hally flung her arms out dramatically.

"We are a _team_! You can't go around playing the hero! I know you feel the need to constantly be validated but this is NOT THE PLACE TO DO IT!" The Master took two murderous steps towards her, his lips curled into a snarl.

"Validated!" Hally cried out in fury, stepping up to him and pushing him hard in the chest. His eyes flashed red and in an instant, his hand was around her neck in a vice grip. His other hand twitched dangerously.

Hally laughed in his face venomously. "Are you going to hit me?" She spat. "Hmm?" She smirked cruelly. "You can't bare it…can you? The fact that I am more powerful than you. It must _kill_ you inside." She snarled through gritted teeth. The drums were throbbing loudly inside her mind, The Master's rage bleeding into her mind through the bond. Hally used it to feed her own anger.

His hand tightened around her neck, cutting off the air into her lungs. She smirked. "You… can… only get away… with this. Because I let you." As she managed to croak out the last word, Hally held her right hand up, The Master was suddenly flung across the room, crashing into the wall on the other side.

"You are insufferable…" He growled dangerously, raising himself up again.

"And _you_ are an arsehole!" She shouted back angrily, baring her teeth at him.

The Master raised an eyebrow, less than impressed.

She huffed. "You act like this is all just a game to you? I'm just a little piece on your chessboard?" She crossed her arms "... Because I know I am a lot more interesting than that military weasel." She spat out.

The Master's face changed, his mouth widening into a cruel grin.

"Oooooh, _that's_ what this is. Little dove is jealous." His mouth twisted into a smirk.

She slowly advanced on him until their chests were just touching, she raised her chin up to stare him down. "I am not jealous. I just think you need to remember who you belong to."

He raised an eyebrow, amused. "Oh, sweetheart… I think you've gotten a little too attached." He pouted mockingly.

"Don't play coy _Koschei_." She tapped her temple. "I know almost everything you're thinking… and every time you look at me, there's a little dark corner of your mind that whispers… _she's mine._ Well, _Master._ I'm yours. And **you** , are **mine**." She purred confidently, her eyes flashing victoriously.

She could still see the fury burning behind The Master's eyes, but there was something else there too. There was conflict, he was fighting something.

Something snapped and suddenly he had whirled them around, he forced her harshly up against the wall. His lips were on hers in a second, his grip on her was still angry. She bit at his lower lip and he growled, grabbing both of her hands and lifting them above her head, keeping them still with one hand, as his other began pulling impatiently at the buttons of her trousers.

He would punish her for that.

And she would let him.

* * *

Hally awoke curled up on her right side the next morning, The Master's arm was wrapped protectively around her. She lay there for a few moments listening to his deep breathing, feeling his breath softly tickle her shoulder.

She shifted slightly, testing out her muscles. Nothing seemed to ache, she must have healed during the night. Hally started to chew on her bottom lip, an uncomfortable feeling was beginning to worm its way down into her stomach.

"What's wrong?" The Master's sleepy voice vibrated against her back.

She was silent for a minute or so, not knowing what to say.

"I'm sorry…" She tried. "…if I hurt you." She swallowed nervously, shame swimming around in her stomach.

She felt him chuckle softly. "You didn't."

She frowned and wiggled around so that she was facing him, he watched her with calm interest.

"I didn't mean what I said…" She looked into his eyes.

She watched as they softened momentarily, he reached between them and gently caressed her cheek. "I won't ever hurt you Hal."

He leant forwards slightly to place a cool kiss on her forehead. "You're mine."


	19. Part 1 - Chapter 19

Eventually The Master had let Hally get up out of bed that morning. Although he had made her promise to apologise to the team that day. She'd huffed dramatically but when everyone had been gathered in the main hub, she'd apologised to them all for putting them in danger.

She'd then kind of ruined it by sarcastically apologising to Foxer for saving his life but The Master had just laughed and rolled his eyes.

Afterwards Kal had approached her and quietly thanked her for saving Foxer's life. Although she'd ended the conversation by telling Hally to leave it to her next time. Hally had taken that as a small victory either way.

After that Hally and Kal had seemed to come to some kind of mutual agreement to be civil to one another. Something that turned to almost mutual respect after their visit to Jothal.

FD-2 had intercepted a message from a freighter ship, the message had heavily implicated that the Shabogans onboard were looking into illegally trading some of the weaponry they were transporting for the Time War. Jax had sent a tip off to the Gallifreyan War Council, who had suggested the S-55 team see if they could intercept the trade on Jothal. After they'd offered them an extortionate amount of credit to do so… The Master had agreed.

_That was how Kal, Tei and Hally had found themselves trying to get into a private party in one of the diamond bars in the Upper West Side of the Capitol of Lothal. The three of them were hidden in a dark alleyway on the other side of the street. Tei and Kal had their eyes on the main entrance, Tei was muttering something to Fox through his comm. Hally could hear that Foxer was trying to create fake identities for all three of them to be added to the party guest list._

_Hally huffed. It was taking too long._

_Looking off to the right, Hally spotted a line of attractive women in their underwear being ushered into the venue through the 'staff' entrance. She smirked and clicked the comm in her ear._

" _Fox, just get Tei an invite. Me and Kal will be using our own assets to get us inside." Kal looked back at her, a confused look on her face. Hally winked and quickly unzipped her black jacket. She could hear Fox in her comm._

" _Ummm… wait what's going on?"_

_Hally laughed and pulled her T-shirt off over her head, leaving her in just her bra. Tei and Kal watched speechless as she shuffled out of her dark trousers._

" _You coming?" Hally motioned to Kal as she confidently stepped out of the alleyway in just her underwear. Walking assertively around to the back door of the bar, she slipped onto the end of the line of women, the guard not giving her a second look as he ushered them inside._

_Kal had followed shortly behind her, shooting her an irritated look when they'd reunited inside. Eventually Tei had joined them after Fox had managed to sort him out on the guest list._

From there Kal and Tei had taken the lead with gathering all the evidence the Gallifreyan War Council would need to be sure the Shabogans were trading illegally.

It was safe to say, The Master hadn't been amused.

Although, the success of that mission was the reason why, around a week later, both Hally and The Master were back on Gallifrey for The Master to receive a medal of honour for helping identify the war traitors. Hally had whined the entire way there, that really it should be her getting the praise, as she'd been the one to get them in. The Master had laughed and told her that he was her general, and therefore was allowed to take all the credit. He'd also reminded her that she was technically meant to be imprisoned on the other side of the galaxy as far as the Gallifreyan Council were concerned. She'd huffed but had eventually stopped moaning.

The Master had left Hally in his quarters while he'd met with The Council, she'd flopped down onto the bed happily. It felt amazing to be back, to just be able to stop, if only for a few moments.

The bedsheets smelt different, she supposed it had been a long time since anyone had slept in them. Hally propped herself up on her elbows. She should probably try to find Persca… let her know that she wasn't dead.

A loud, deep siren began to wail overhead. Hally tried to cover her ears, the sound was so loud she could feel it reverberating in her chest. It was a warning. The Citadel was under attack.

Hally rushed over to the window, looking out. She couldn't see much, the window only looked out onto a small courtyard, lined with more towers of the Capitol. She looked up at the sky, it was burning bright orange, Hally's mouth fell open as sky seemed to crack open. Dark streams soared across the auburn abyss. The ground beneath Hally's feet rumbled and jolted, she grabbed hold of the windowsill to steady herself. The sky was beginning to darken, a dark, dangerous red tinge seeping into the horizon.

The ground rumbled angrily again and Hally ran for the door, narrowly missing the bookcase as it fell to the floor. She rushed out into the corridor, looking left and right. All around people were running, shielding their heads from the rubble that was falling from the ceiling. Someone bundled into her, knocking her off balance. They carried on rushing past and out of sight.

Hally picked herself up and rushed out along the corridor, making her way outside into the courtyard. She could smell smoke, the air was thick with heat and Hally could hear panicked shouts and screams coming from all around her.

She needed to find The Master.

The tower behind her exploded in a shower of dust and brick. Hally cried out and ducked, when the dust settled she turned behind her to see a large hole had been blown through the tower. She stumbled through and out onto the streets of the Capitol. Above her she could hear the unmistakable blasts of the Dalek weapons as they ricocheted across the sky.

Hally kept moving, she needed to try and get to the outskirts of the city.

" _No…"_

Hally stopped moving as The Master's voice echoed in her mind. She huffed.

"No?! Ok… so where would you _like_ me to go?" She cried out as another building about four meters to her left exploded.

The Master's voice was calm in her mind, but she could sense his panic beneath the words.

" _The TARDIS fields."_

Hally turned back around. The TARDIS fields were on the other side of the academy, she'd have to somehow make her way through the now crumbling towers and up towards the valley of the Mountain. She squeaked with surprise when a Dalek blast hit the floor to her left and she started to run.

The academy was falling. Every time Hally tried to take a turn down a corridor it would either explode or collapse. She was beginning to run out of options.

She hauled herself through the small gap that now existed in the wall between the corridor and the great hall. A huge crack was threatening to bring the ceiling down on her. Dust hung in the air, a stream of light from the broken window hitting the now dirty brown floor, littered with rubble and broken furniture. It was strangely quiet in here. The screams from outside had died down. Everything was dying.

Hally's breath caught in her throat but she forced herself to carry on, the side door was still intact so she made her way over to it. Cautiously opening it and stepping through. Hally straightened up, her mouth falling open.

On the other side of the door, was just rubble.

The entire Northern wing of the academy had been destroyed. Hally could see now, she could see their bodies. She swallowed back her tears, she couldn't dwell on them right now. She pressed on forward, the dust stinging her eyes painfully.

A figure came into view up ahead, Hally squinted her eyes trying to work out if they were friend or foe. She felt a familiar presence bump her consciousness and she smiled slightly in relief as The Master stumbled slightly. Hally walked forward, frowning as she noticed the deep gash on his forehead. There was another large blast and the world around them shook, Hally stumbled forward, tripping on a rock. She managed to steady herself, limping slightly. The Master was only a few paces ahead of her now.

"Hal…?" She looked up but found that he wasn't looking at her, he was looking at something behind her. Hally went to turn around but before she could, something large and heavy connected with the back of her head.

Everything went black.

* * *

Hally blinked, bringing her hand up to shield her eyes from the bright yellow blobs that were floating in front of her eyes. She groaned softly as she slowly managed to sit up. Looking behind her, Hally could see that she'd been lying on a small single bed. The room she'd woken up in was small, just the bed and a chest of drawers. Now she could see what the yellow blobs had been… there were loads of strange coral designs on the walls of the room, with circular orange lights of varying sizes dotted throughout.

Hally gingerly touched the back of her head. Nothing.

The last thing she remembered was looking at The Master… then something had hit her over the head. She rose from the bed, making her way over to the door. It was unlocked, Hally closed her eyes and listened.

A small smile began to grow on her face. She could hear it. A TARDIS.

They'd made it onto a TARDIS.

Hally grinned and pulled open the door of her room, she followed the soft humming of the TARDIS, the gentle song leading her through to the console room. She looked around, no sign of The Master. She checked the console and frowned, they'd landed around an hour ago. On earth.

She circled the console, the strange coral design seemed to be a theme throughout. Hally raised an eyebrow. She supposed they'd been lucky enough to escape at all, interior design could be figured out later…

One of the doors to the TARDIS was pulled open and a tall, skinny man bounded in. Hally took a step back.

_That's not The Master._

The man grinned upon seeing her. Hally raised an eyebrow noticing the plastic arm the man was carrying. He shrugged and threw it off to the side.

"You're awake!" The man grinned, his large ears seemed to wiggle happily. "Sorry…" He motioned to the abandoned arm. "Bit of trouble with some autons." He waggled his eyebrows.

Hally was staring at him, a small frown on her face.

"No…" She muttered, looking the man up and down.

"What?" She closed her mouth with a small pop. "How…?!"

The pair were silent for a moment, Hally was trying to process all the thoughts that were running through her mind.

"Doctor?" She whispered.

He nodded, his eyes twinkling kindly.


	20. Part 2 - Chapter 20

Hally stared as The Doctor began to flick at the TARDIS controls, he let out a short breath of frustration. Skulking back to where he'd discarded the plastic arm, retrieving it he came back to the console, attaching multiple wires from the messy console area to the rigid limb. He muttered irritably under his breath, something about the signal being too weak. He tried to boost it by hitting at the TARDIS monitor but the console just set off irritated sparks. The Doctor ran a hand over the top of his head, looking stumped.

"How did I get here?" Hally asked slowly, after having watched him for a few moments.

The Doctor didn't respond, a small blue light had started flashing on the console.

"Oh, oh, oh!" The Doctor exclaimed, grabbing the arm, waving it in the air excitedly. "Would you look at that!" He began to frantically type on the monitor, Hally watched the screen as some images flashed up. A deep frown appeared on The Doctors face and he rubbed his chin, thinking.

Hally cleared her throat this time. "Doctor." She said more firmly. "How am I here with you…? What happened?!" Hally could feel the panic rising in her chest. She needed answers. She needed to get back to Koschei.

The Doctor waved his hand dismissively. "Hold on… sorry… this is." His frown deepened as he stared at the screen. "…important." He grabbed a lever and pulled it down. The console started to whir painfully as the TARDIS rematerialized with a soft hum.

Hally clenched her fists, her chest was beginning to tighten as fear started to take hold. The Doctor landed the TARDIS and turned to dash towards the doors.

"LISTEN TO ME!" Hally screamed. The TARDIS made a pained noise as the lights flickered.

The Doctor turned back to her, his face was stern.

"Right now, we don't have time for this." He turned back and rushed out of the doors.

Hally cried out with anger, stomping her foot on the metal grating underfoot, before rushing out of the TARDIS to follow him. As she flew out the door she saw The Doctor slip through a backdoor just ahead, she followed quickly. Her face was pulled into a snarl and she was more than ready to start shouting obscenities at him but the scene she entered into was so strange, the insults died in her mouth.

The Doctor was wrestling with a smaller, young man. Hally cocked her head to one side, the man was thrashing around all over the place, his hands had been replaced with large plastic blocks.

_Huh…_

Hally watched, a look of utter disbelief on her face as The Doctor managed to pull off the head of the flailing plastic man. The Doctor turned around and sent a manic grin to a young blonde woman who was also staring at the scene. The blonde turned and quickly hit the glass of a small red box on the wall. A shrill alarm began to sound throughout the establishment, Hally winced, covering her ears. The girl was crying out loudly, trying to usher everyone out through the front door. She had no choice but to follow The Doctor back out of the building towards the TARDIS as chaos continued to erupt behind him. The blonde ran after them shouting at The Doctor.

Hally groaned loudly as he power-walked through the small alley, back towards the TARDIS doors.

"So, this is somehow more important than telling me, what. The. Hell. Is. Going. On!" She hissed out angrily, having to jog to try and keep up. The Doctor continued to ignore her, instead, he started fiddling with the plastic head.

The blonde had rushed past them both and was now pulling furiously at the large padlocked gates which blocked the exit to the alleyway.

"Open the gate! Use that tube thing. Come on!" She screamed back at The Doctor, her eyes wide with panic.

"Sonic screwdriver." The Doctor corrected.

"Use it!" She pulled again hopelessly at the chains.

"Nah, tell you what, let's go in here." He shrugged and grinned towards the TARDIS, opening the door and heading inside.

Hally skulked in behind him. "Are we just letting anyone onto the TARDIS now?!" She growled, crossing her arms childishly.

After a moment the doors were flung open and the blonde girl came racing in. There was a pause... before she swiftly ran out again.

Hally sighed and rolled her eyes, she tried to move over towards The Doctor but the blonde had stumbled her way back inside. The Doctor moved away from Hally and slowly approached her.

"It's going to follow us…" The blonde said breathlessly, her eyes flicking to Hally in confusion.

"The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door and believe me they've tried. Now shut up a minute." He shot back, sending Hally a pointed look. He started plugging the head into the console, just as Hally had seen him do with the arm moments before.

"You see the arm, was too simple. But a head's perfect. I can use it to trace the signal back to the original source…" Hally raised an eyebrow, was he explaining for the sake of the human?

"Right where do you want to start?" He smiled, leaning on the side of the TARDIS, watching the human in amusement.

She looked around for a few moments, her mouth open. "The insides bigger than the outside…"

"Yes." The Doctor crossed his arms.

"It's alien…?"

"Yep." He popped the P, happily.

"Are you alien?"

"Yes." He countered, almost challenging the girl.

"Is…she?" The blonde looked back over to Hally again, who was just watching the exchange, a small sneer on her face.

The Doctor looked back at his daughter. "Kind of."

"You _said_ you travelled alone?" The human frowned, cocking her head to one side suspiciously.

Hally shot The Doctor a glare. "Did you forget I was here?" She challenged.

"Long story…" The Doctor flapped his arms at both women, trying to shut them up. He turned back to the girl pointedly. "Is that alright?"

She paused, nodding slowly. "Yeah."

"Ah yes… Rose this is Hally, Hally… Rose." The Doctor motioned between them both. "It's called the TARDIS, this thing. T-A-R-D-I-S, that's time and relative dimension in space." He said proudly.

Rose was silent for a second before she covered her mouth with her hand, a small sob escaping her throat. Hally's features softened, feeling a pang of sympathy for the girl.

"That's ok. Culture shock. Happens to the best of us…" The Doctor said, matter of factly.

"Did they kill him, Mickey, did they kill him." She sobbed. "Is he dead?"

"Oh, I didn't think of that." The Doctor said, still somehow managing to sound cheery. Hally sent him an incredulous look, moving to stand closer to the crying human.

"He's my boyfriend, you pulled off his head, they copied him and you didn't even think…" Hally put a hand on the girl's shoulder, trying to comfort her. "And now you're just going to let him melt?!" Rose motioned over to the console irately.

"Melt? Oh no, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor cried, bounding up to the head which was indeed, starting to collapse into a pool of plastic sludge. Hally shot Rose an awkwardly apologetic look.

"What are you doing?" Rose continued, taking an accusatory step towards The Doctor.

"Following the signal, it's faint." The Doctor started bashing a few things. "Wait a minute, I've got it. No, no, no, no, no. Almost there, almost there. Here we go!" With a small spring, The Doctor turned and ran back out of the TARDIS. Hally audibly groaned.

"You can't go out there it's not safe!" Rose shouted, following him quickly.

"Argh!" Hally shouted to no one in particular, begrudgingly following the two out of the TARDIS. The Doctor was pacing up and down the walled riverside, muttering.

"We've moved… Does it fly?" Rose turned back to ask Hally.

Hally made a face, deciding it was easier to just nod.

"Disappears there and reappears here, you wouldn't understand." The Doctor muttered harshly. Hally narrowed her eyes at him. What was his problem?

"But if we're somewhere else, what about that headless thing it's still on the loose." Rose paced back and forth, biting her lip.

"It melted with the head, are you going to witter on all night?" He snapped.

Rose sent him a look before going quiet. "I'll have to tell his mother…" Hally frowned, the inkling of panic returning to her chest. Hally tried to shake it off, trying instead to focus on Rose.

The Doctor sent Rose a confused look, she scoffed. "Mickey. I'll have to tell his mother he's dead and you just went and forgot him again! You were right, you are alien."

"Look if I did forget some kid called Mickey…" The Doctor turned on her.

"Yeah, he's not a kid!" Rose countered.

"…It's because I'm busy trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering about on top of this planet. Alright?"

"Alright!" Rose cried back.

"Yes it is!" The Doctor snapped.

"Wow… You truly are something else." Hally muttered venomously at him.

He rolled his eyes. "You can be quiet too, or at least you can thank me for being alive!" He turned away to face the river. Hally grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back to face her.

"What's that supposed to mean? What are you keeping this from me!?" Hally's voice rose to a shout. The Doctor shrugged off her hand, covering his face with his hands. An awkward silence fell. The human felt the need to fill it.

"If you are an alien, how come you sound like you're from the north?" She asked quietly.

Hally groaned softly.

"Lots of planets have a north…" The Doctor sent Rose a look. The pair continued with the useless small talk for a few moments before Hally let out an irritated cry.

"Ok, seeing as I'm obviously not going to get any answers out of you until we've solved the mystery of the _living plastic,_ what is it doing here and what has it got against this planet?" Hally rounded on the pair of them, looking between them impatiently.

"Nothing, it loves them." The Doctor grinned, turning to Rose. "You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air. Perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. Its food stock was destroyed in the war, all it's protein planets rotted, so earth… dinner." Hally crossed her arms as The Doctor explained the situation to Rose enthusiastically.

"Any way of stopping it?" Rose frowned, looking between them both.

"Anti-plastic." The Doctor grinned wildly, pulling a large tube full of dark blue liquid out of his jacket pocket.

"Anti-plastic…?" Rose asked.

"Anti-plastic." He reiterated.

"Anyone else want to say anti-plastic?" Hally exaggerated a shrug.

The Doctor sent her a look that clearly said 'shut up'.

He began to pace again, walking them along the riverfront. "But first I've got to find it. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?" He whirled around, thinking.

"Hold on, hide what?" Rose asked.

"The transmitter." He said as if it was obvious. "The consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal."

Hally started to look around as the trio walked further along the river.

He began to describe it. "…Like a transmitter, round and massive. Somewhere slap bang in the middle of London. A huge metal circular structure, like a dish like a wheel, very close to where we're standing. Must be completely invisible." The Doctor had come to a stop in front of what looked like a huge lit up, mechanised carousel. Hally cocked her head to the side as she felt Rose nod in amusement to the large circular structure behind The Doctor.

The Doctor looked behind him, trying to see what they were looking at, he turned back. "What?"

Rose nodded again, stifling a laugh.

Again, The Doctor turned back even more confused. "What…? What is it, what?"

Hally had to fight the urge to hide her face in her hands. "How the hell did I end up with you…"

The Doctor's face lit up in realisation. "Oh. Fantastic!" He grabbed Rose's hand, pointing at Hally with his other hand. "You. Stay with the TARDIS!"

"Wait, what?! No!..." Hally tried to argue, but The Doctor had already dragged Rose off into a run. She ran her hands through her hair, looking back where they'd come from. She could still see the TARDIS, it was fine. Hally flopped down on one of the wooden benches that lined the riverbank and sighed, dejected. She relaxed her head back over the top of the bench, staring up at the stars. Tears pricked her eyes as the panic started to climb back up her throat. She let out a deep breath, closing her eyes and trying to feel for something, anyone. She swallowed down the panic. She couldn't feel anyone, no one but The Doctor who was currently running to the other side of the river. She opened her eyes and bit down on her lower lip. Perhaps they were just too far away?

Hally ran her hands over her face, letting out a soft groan she forced herself to get up. She wasn't just going to sit and let The Doctor and his little human have all the fun. Hally started to run.

* * *

She jumped down off the ladder into the large underground chamber. The first thing that struck Hally was the smell. It smelt of hot plastic and metal. She crept closer to the edge, she could see The Doctor now, he was addressing the moving molten pit in the middle of the chamber. That must have been the consciousness.

"This planet is just starting, these stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk but they are capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf, please, just go…" The Doctor was reasoning with the pit. Hally frowned, cocking her head to one side. Why wasn't he just getting rid of it?

That was when she noticed the two plastic men who were approaching The Doctor. Rose got there first, she shouted a warning out but it was too late. The pair had grabbed hold of The Doctor, one of the plastic men retrieving the anti-plastic from his jacket. The consciousness roared in anger and fear.

"That was just insurance, I wasn't going to use it!" The Doctor tried to reason. Hally snuck in and closer, she needed to get closer. Perhaps she could knock the anti-plastic vial into the pit.

"I was not attacking you, I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear I'm not!" The Doctor struggled, the Nestene responded furiously and The Doctor turned around.

"What do you mean? No, oh no. Honestly! No." A door slid open above where The Doctor was stood, the Nestene had captured the TARDIS.

"Yes, that's my ship!" The Doctor shouted helplessly.

Hally groaned. "Shit." She tried to awkwardly climb further down towards the Nestene.

"That's not true, I should know, I was there. I fought in the war it wasn't my fault. I couldn't save your world, I couldn't save any of them." That got her attention, Hally looked up, it felt like a heavy stone had settled in her stomach. The Doctor was struggling against the plastic men. He finally noticed her, his face paling.

"What's it doing?!" Rose cried out from the other side of the chamber.

The Doctor tried to look over to her. "It's the TARDIS, The Nestene's identified it as a superior technology, it's terrified, it's going to the final phase. It's starting the invasion. Get out Rose, just leg it now!" The Doctor turned back to Hally, he almost looked apologetic.

The plastic men were obviously stronger than him, one of them was edging him closer and closer to the raging molten pit. Hally looked around her, trying to see if there was anything she could send flying at it. She focused, perhaps she could push the vial into the Nestene! She bit her lip, the sound of The Doctor telling Rose to run echoing around the metal chamber. Staring intently at the vial she willed it into the pit. The heavy feeling in her stomach grew until Hally had to double over and retch. She coughed and straightened herself up, trying again to move the vial. Her breath caught in her throat. Nothing was happening.

Suddenly a large electric bolt crackled from out of the Nestene pit, hitting the ceiling with a deafening crash. The platform Hally was standing on jolted as the supports were blasted with the bolt. Hally ran and jumped as the platform collapsed to the floor. She crashed onto the platform with The Doctor, rolling to avoid the hard swipe from one of the plastic men. She got up but she'd underestimated their speed, a strong, hard arm was suddenly around her neck, crushing her windpipe. Hally struggled, but the mannequin held her steady. The Doctor was shouting something at her. Suddenly the weight on her neck was lifted, Hally spun around in time to see Rose swinging from a metal chain attached to the roof. She'd kicked the man out of the way and the anti-plastic had found its way into the Nestene pit. The creature began to cry out in pain and anger.

"Rose!" The Doctor grabbed the human's hand. "Now we're in trouble." He laughed and started to drag Rose out of the chamber. Hally frowned, watching the Nestene squirm in pain.

"Hally!" The Doctor cried from above her, she looked up at him as he bundled the two humans into the TARDIS. Hally sprinted up to the platform, shutting the door behind her as The Doctor got the TARDIS taking off.

"Nice one." Hally laughed, shooting Rose a grin. Rose smiled back proudly. "Looks like PE wasn't a total waste of time."

Hally laughed, having no idea what Rose was on about.

As soon as they landed, the guy that Hally assumed was Mickey practically fell out of the TARDIS in his desperation to get out. Hally snorted in laughter, Rose sent her an apologetic look and motioned to her phone. "Just need to check on my mum…"

With the two humans gone, Hally turned back to The Doctor, he was bent over the console, flicking random buttons.

"What did you mean Doctor…" Hally asked quietly. "You couldn't save any of them?" She watched him carefully, she could feel water rising to her eyes again as she waited for him to respond.

The Doctor walked past her, opening the TARDIS door and leaning on the side.

"Nestene consciousness." He clicked his fingers at the humans outside. "Easy."

Hally sank into the seat beside the console, resting her head in her hands. She heard The Doctor begin awkwardly.

"Right then, I'll be off. Unless… I don't know… you could come with me?" Hally looked up at the back of The Doctor's head, shooting it a glare.

Hally heard Rose's voice from outside, but she couldn't quite make out what she'd said. Eventually, The Doctor closed the door and made his way over to the console, looking crestfallen. He started to dematerialise.

"She said no then?" Hally asked from her seat.

He nodded sadly. Hally slipped off the seat, slowly coming up on his left.

"What are you hiding from me? Tell me. Doctor please." Butterflies were hovering painfully in her chest. "What happened on Gallifrey?" Her voice cracked.

The Doctor looked up at her, his face was unreadable. He was silent for a minute.

"It's gone."

It felt like someone had punched her in the stomach, she grabbed the side of the console, looking at the floor.

"Everyone. Gone." He continued quietly.

Tears welled in her eyes. "What… what do you mean… how?" She looked back up at him, the look on his face almost killed her. He looked so lost, like something was eating him up inside.

"We're the only ones left. Just you and me." He whispered.

Hally closed her eyes, the tears she'd been holding in fell onto her cheeks. Her legs felt like they were going to give out, she lowered herself to the floor. Curling her legs up to her chest as she just tried to focus on breathing. It was gone. Everything she'd ever known for her entire life was gone. They were gone, her friends… Persca. A pained sob escaped her mouth. He was gone.

The wave of grief that passed over her was overwhelming, it took her a good few minutes to realise that she'd stopped breathing. She coughed in some air, running her hands manically through her hair. She frowned as some of the pain turned to confusion.

"You… came back, for me?" Her voice was small but he heard her.

The Doctor put his hands in his pockets, he looked away as he let out a loud sigh. "No."

Hally frowned, looking up at him. "Huh?" When he didn't elaborate, she added. "How did I get on your TARDIS?"

"I. Don't. Know." He gritted his teeth, the words seemed to be poison in his mouth.

Hally felt a flare of anger at his nonchalance. Looking back to the floor Hally let the pain wash over her again, she wanted to just sit, on the hard floor of the TARDIS until… until he was there. She closed her eyes and tried to reach out for him, she stretched as far as she mentally could. There was nothing. Their bond was cold, empty.

The Doctor's voice broke her search. "Trust me it would have been a lot easier if you hadn't."

Hally let out a horrible laugh. "You'd rather I were dead?" She looked up at him, hatred flashed behind her eyes. The Doctor opened his mouth to respond but instead he just shook his head apologetically. He hadn't meant it like that.

Hally took a deep breath and forced herself to her feet. She grit her teeth, looking up at The Doctor.

"Go back and get the stupid human girl." Hally crossed her arms. "I don't want to be stuck on this ship with only _you."_

He stared at her incredulously for a moment before he moved to the console, starting to rematerialize. He jogged over to the door, opening it again. Hally heard him cry, putting on a cheery tone.

"By the way, did I mention, it also travels in time?"

Hally quickly left the console room as Rose bundled onto the ship. As she walked towards her small room, she could hear The Doctor nattering away to Rose excitedly. She closed the door to her room behind her and collapsed onto the bed. Now that she was alone, Hally couldn't stop the onslaught of tears that came, the pained sobs that turned into anguished cries. It hurt. It physically hurt so much to know that he was gone.

Hally lay awake for hours that night, craving The Master's presence.

She had so many questions.

Why had she not been able to knock that auton into the pit earlier? It should have been easy. Should she tell The Doctor?

Hally had decided that for now, she wouldn't. She hardly knew him and she definitely didn't trust him.

She wept as she decided that she wouldn't tell him about Koschei either. She didn't see the point. He was dead.

* * *

_l_

_Hally woke up, her head was throbbing and the lights above her were flickering horribly. She rolled onto her side, pushing herself up and to the side of the small uncomfortable cot she'd woken up on. Hally looked around. She was in a cell, it was small and all the walls were grey. In fact, everything in the room was grey. The walls, floor, cot. Even the small toilet and sink were a grey colour. Hally wrinkled her nose in disgust. It smelt weird, cold and medical._

_She stood up slowly, her body protested painfully. She stumbled, catching herself on the edge of the sink. Hally looked into the small rectangular mirror that was just above the sink. She looked like crap, there were horrible dark circles around her eyes and her hair was lifeless and dank. She leaned in closer to the mirror, there was the remnants of a nasty green and yellow bruise across the top of the right side of her head. In the mirror she could see that she was also dressed in grey, an all in one grey prison suit. Hally tried to stretch out her body, groaning in pain. This wasn't right. She shouldn't be bruised and she definitely shouldn't be aching all over._

_Hally sat back down on the side of the cot, her body crying out in exhaustion._

_Where the hell was she?_

_She couldn't remember how she'd ended up here, or how she'd gotten such a nasty bruise._

_Hally tried to feel out around her for signs of life, for anything. Hally frowned, closing her eyes and trying again._

_Nothing._

_She focused inwards, trying to feel her own energy._

_Hally opened her eyes._

_She couldn't feel it._


	21. Part 2 - Chapter 21

Over the next few days, Hally had let herself be dragged all over Platform One and Cardiff, 1869 with The Doctor and Rose. She was starting to see the appeal. It was all rather addictive. The constant adrenaline, the danger and then the rush of endorphins when they finally made it back to the TARDIS alive.

The human was starting to grow on her too. She was honest and she never let The Doctor have the last word, which Hally was enjoying immensely. She supposed things were getting a little less hostile between herself and her father. She was still angry at him, for, basically everything. He seemed to be angry at her too but she didn't know why. He'd shouted at her on Platform One for not having followed him into the engine room.

" _If you had been where you were supposed to, Jabe would still be alive!"_

Hally sighed, she'd understood his anger. It was easier for him to blame her than to admit that the tree had willingly sacrificed herself for him.

Anyway, after all that running, the human was beginning to smell funny and The Doctor had suggested a quick trip home so she could pack a few of her things. Plus it would give him some time to take a look at the TARDIS.

Hally followed the pair out of the TARDIS and onto the Powell Estate, having a quick look around she couldn't help wrinkling her nose slightly in distaste. Why did humans live in these?

"How long have I been gone?" Rose asked turning back to face them.

The Doctor looked around, pleased with himself. "About twelve hours."

"Oh. Right, I won't be long. I just want to see my mum." The blonde nodded, going to head off to one of the flats.

"What're you going to tell her?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know. I've been to the year 5 billion and only been gone, what, twelve hours?" Rose quipped back, Hally couldn't help but smirk. "No, I'll just tell her I spent the night at Shareen's. See you later. Oh, don't you disappear." She pointed back at them, running off.

Hally pushed her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, mooching about. She'd found the TARDIS wardrobe and upon a recommendation from Rose had tried on the pair of skinny black jeans. She'd rarely taken them off since, they were _so_ comfortable. Perfect for running. Hally frowned, cocking her head as a handmade flyer caught her attention. She walked over to the poster that was stuck on the side of a post, flattening it out so she could read it.

"Ummm…" Her eyes widened. "Doctor?!" She pulled the paper off the post, jogging back over to The Doctor, who was just looking at her expectantly. She flattened the paper out into his hand.

"Oh…" He muttered, looking up to where Rose had just disappeared to. Then he began to run. Hally followed quickly, calling after him.

"Do you actually _know_ how to fly the TARDIS?!"

Hally ran into what must have been Rose's flat a few seconds after The Doctor had burst in, just in time to see him grin awkwardly at Rose, who was in the arms of her mother.

"It's not twelve hours, it's twelve months. You've been gone a whole year. Sorry."

It had taken at least 30 minutes for Rose to calm her mother down. There had been tears, so many tears, and shouting and even a broken teapot. Hally had stood awkwardly by the walls of the Tyler living room while most of it had occurred, trying to stay as far away as possible from the crazy woman in front of her. The Doctor had taken a lot of the brunt of Jackie Tyler's anger. Hally shifted from one foot to the other, trying to put her best apologetic smile on. Rose had forced her mother to sit down, making her a tea. Hally had watched as Jackie had visibly relaxed upon taking a sip, she'd cocked her head to one side, wondering what could be in such a powerful drink. Rose had called the police to inform them that she wasn't actually missing. They'd insisted on sending an officer round to the flat to take her statement.

Jackie had jumped straight in with the questioning. "The hours I've sat here, days and weeks and months, all on my own. I thought you were dead, and where were you? Travelling. What the hell does that mean, travelling? That's no sort of answer. You ask her. She won't tell me. That's all she says. Travelling." She was motioning wildly at the police officer. Hally almost felt a little sorry for the man. He had no idea what he'd walked into.

"That's what I was doing." Rose tried to shrug it off.

"When your passport's still in the drawer? It's just one lie after another!"

"I meant to phone. I really did. I just... I forgot." Rose begged, running a hand over her face, she looked at The Doctor for a bit of support.

"What, for a year? You _forgot_ for a year? And I am left sitting here. I just don't believe you. Why won't you tell me where you've been?"

Rose opened her mouth to respond but she obviously couldn't think of a decent enough excuse.

"Actually, it's my fault. I sort of, err, employed Rose as my companion." The Doctor chimed in cheerfully. Hally shook her head, this guy really needed to learn how to read a room.

The policeman jotted that down in his notebook, looking up at The Doctor. "When you say companion, is this a sexual relationship?"

Both Rose and The Doctor responded quickly.

"No."

"No!"

Hally let out a strangled noise, unfortunately, this drew the policeman's attention to her.

"And what about you ma'am? What is your relationship with this man?"

Hally looked at The Doctor awkwardly. "Umm, he's my da-… I'm his daughter." She corrected quickly. The Doctor sighed at her obvious discomfort which would only cause the policeman to think she was lying.

Jackie rounded on her next. "So who are you then….? You went off travelling with them too? A 40-year-old man, my 19-year-old Rose and what…? You must only be 18?!"

Hally frowned. "Umm, no… I'm three hun-"

The Doctor cut her off quickly. "18 yes! She's 18! 18 and my daughter. My very _annoying_ daughter." He grinned proudly. Hally shot him a look, crossing her arms.

"And you…" Jackie turned back to The Doctor again. "…you waltz in here all charm and smiles, and the next thing I know, she vanishes off the face of the Earth! Is this some weird Stockholm type thing? What, did you find them on the Internet? Did you go online and pretend you're a doctor?"

The Doctor looked hurt. "I am a Doctor."

"Prove it. Stitch this, mate!" Hally had to cover her mouth to hide the laugh as Jackie slapped The Doctor around the side of the face. Hard.

Rose had groaned loudly, standing up to check that The Doctor was ok. After the policeman had asked all of his questions he'd left, looking very relieved to be doing so. Eventually, Hally had grabbed The Doctor by the elbow, pulling him out of the flat and onto the small balcony. She could sense that mother and daughter needed a little bit of alone time and The Doctor's weird presence wasn't doing them any good.

Hally leant against the railings, looking down onto the estate below. The Doctor hovered behind her, she could feel him watching.

"What's up?" She asked, peering over her shoulder to look at him.

He frowned, looking down at his feet. "You never call me Dad…?"

Hally bit the inside of her mouth, looking away from him. "Oh… you picked up on that in there…" She muttered, clearing her throat. "Well." Hally let out a loud sigh. "You've never shown any interest in being my dad, a father. So I thought…" She shrugged, not sure how to finish the sentence.

She heard him put his hands in his pockets, he appeared in the corner of her eye, looking out over the estate as she was.

"No, I suppose I haven't have I?" He was rocking backwards and forward on his feet.

"Sorry."

Hally couldn't help the quiet laugh that she let out. She shook her head, gripping at the railing in front of her. She wanted to scream at him, years of pain and anger burning in her mind. Instead, she just let out a long breath.

"I suppose that's a start…" She muttered. After a moment, she felt The Doctor move away from her, she was alone. Hally frowned, her thumb began to tap gently on the railing, the constant rhythm was a comfort.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

"Oh! Hey… where'd The Doctor go?" Rose's voice made her jump. Hally turned and nodded her head in the direction The Doctor had gone.

"No idea, he went off that way…" Rose nodded and smiled, running off after him. Hally watched her go. She could see why he'd left, there was so much to see and do out here. In the big wide universe. She smiled to herself.

No, that's not what hurt anymore. What hurt was the fact that he seemed to so easily form attachments to these humans. These little blips in time, who existed for such an insignificant interval. Somehow he could make them his friends, he could grow attached in a few days. Yet in three hundred years he still looked at her like she was foreign to him. Even now, travelling with him. He always grabbed the humans hand when they ran…

A deep horn sound brought Hally's attention to the sky. From the horizon, a spaceship was crashing. Plumes of black smoke trailed behind the ship, which was hurtling right over them. Hally leant further over the railing but the ship had passed just out of sight. She ran in the direction Rose and The Doctor had gone, rushing up a tall staircase. She almost collided with the pair as they bounded down the stairs, obviously having seen the spaceship crash from the roof.

"Yeah… aliens…" Hally muttered, The Doctor nodded and brushed past her, running out of the estate. Hally and Rose had to sprint to keep up with him, but it wasn't long before he'd slowed into a walk. All the traffic had come to a standstill, people were shouting angrily at the military soldiers up ahead.

The Doctor felt the two women as they approached. "It's blocked off." He said disappointed.

"We're miles from the centre." Rose frowned. "The city must be gridlocked. The whole of London must be closing down!"

"I know. I can't believe I'm here to see this. This is fantastic!" The Doctor grinned back at them, Hally was sure that he would be jumping for joy if there weren't so many people around.

"Did you know this was going to happen?" Rose took a step forward, trying to get some straight answers from The Doctor.

He grinned proudly. "Nope."

"Do we know who it is?" Hally asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Nope." He clapped his hands together happily.

"Oh, I'm so glad I've got you." Rose muttered sarcastically.

"I bet you are. This is what I travel for, Rose. To see history happening right in front of us!"

"Well, let's go and see it," Rose whined. "Never mind the traffic, we've got the Tardis." She grinned excitedly.

The Doctor shook his head. "Better not. They've already got one spaceship in the middle of London. I don't want to shove another one on top."

Hally crossed her arms over her chest. "You know it'd be able to sneak in if you fixed that Chameleon Circuit." She shot him a glance.

"No!" He huffed. "Emergency like this, there'll be all kinds of people watching. Trust me. The Tardis stays where it is."

Hally sent an apologetic look to Rose, who looked dejected.

"So history's happening and we're stuck here?" She looked up at him frustrated.

"Yes, we are." He countered.

Rose's face suddenly brightened as she had an idea. "We could always do what everybody else does. We could watch it on TV!" She grinned back at Hally who laughed.

Rose dragged the two Time Lords back to her flat, turning on the small black box. Hally took a seat on the sofa as The Doctor pulled an armchair closer to the TV, he leant in close, trying to hear the news over Jackie's animated wittering. Hally smiled, watching Rose's mother instantly busy herself about the flat. One of her friends had come round after she'd heard the news about Rose. Jackie was making everyone tea, well everyone except The Doctor. Hally grinned thankfully as Rose passed her a mug of the steaming hot liquid. Hally looked at it, swilling the murky brown liquid around, she leant forward, sniffing it.

"Mmmm…" Hally took a tentative sip. "That's hot!" She flinched back, Rose turned back to her and laughed.

"You never had tea before?" She looked at her incredulously.

Hally laughed softly, shaking her head. "Why would you make a drink that you can't drink…?" She frowned up at Rose.

Rose just shook her head in amusement. "It'll cool!"

Hally scrunched up her nose, humans were weird. She held the mug in between her hands, flicking a look at The Doctor who was engrossed in the TV, she gently flowed a small amount of energy through her hands, cooling the drink until it was just warm. She smiled to herself, taking a large sip.

The Doctor huffed. "Oi, I'm trying to listen!" He cried, cutting off the conversation Jackie had been having with her friend Ru. He turned back to the TV irritably.

Hally took another gulp. It was nice, like a little hug in a mug. Hally smiled to herself. Her smile dropped when the all familiar ache in her head flared up. She sighed. She'd hardly used her energy since she'd woken up with The Doctor. It'd taken a good few hours before anything had worked at all. Now, well now things were shaky, to say the least. Sometimes, if she concentrated really hard she could just about bring up a shield, or break down a door as she had done on Platform One, but she was considerably weaker than she'd ever been. Hally looked at the TV screen, a reporter was standing on the river embankment, in front of the crashed ship.

"They've found a body. It's unconfirmed…" The reporter said, looking behind him. The camera zoomed in slightly on the ship.

"It doesn't look too high tech…?" Hally started, leaning forwards.

"Shhh. Thinking." The Doctor muttered. Hally rolled her eyes and got up off the sofa to go and see if any of the humans were doing anything amusing.

Much to The Doctor's dismay, Jackie had invited many of her friends over, a sort of welcome home party for Rose. She'd even gone out and bought little snacks from the corner shop. Hally was having the best time trying all the little strange concoctions of food. Rose came over and handed her a mug, this time it was filled with a dark red liquid that smelt strange.

"What is it?" Hally cocked her head, sniffing at the liquid.

"Oh, it's red wine. Sorry about the mug, we've run out of glasses!" Rose called as she flopped down on the sofa.

Hally looked back down at it, going to take a sip.

The Doctor shuffled in his seat on the armchair, someone had decided to dump their baby on him and he was struggling to get the remote off it. He sniffed and glanced over his shoulder at her.

"You won't like it." He said sharply, tugging gently at the remote in the infant's hands.

Hally narrowed her eyes and took a large sip out of spite. She instantly regretted it, making a face and spitting the liquid back out into the glass.

"Told you." The Doctor muttered, not looking at her. She huffed, putting the mug down and coming to lean over The Doctor, tuning into the television.

"A body of some sort has been found inside the wreckage of the spacecraft." Said the reporter. "Brought to the nearest shore. Unconfirmed reports say that the body is of extra-terrestrial origin. An extraordinary event unfolding here live here in Central London. The body is being transferred to a secure unit mortuary, the whereabouts is yet unknown. The roads in Central London are being…" The TV cut over to a children's TV show, The Doctor huffed, struggling with the human infant to change it back.

"…Albion Hospital. We still don't know whether it's alive or dead. Whitehall is denying everything." Hally straightened up as Jackie's friend Ru pulled on her elbow.

"So Jackie says you're from abroad. Whereabouts?" Ru smiled kindly, but Hally could see the suspicious glint in her eye. The Doctor stood up from behind her and made a swift exit through the front door. Rose quickly followed him.

"Oh… right, yeah. It's a tiny island, middle of nowhere. You won't have heard of it…" Hally smiled awkwardly, trying to make it past the woman. "Sorry… I just need to…"

Ru raised her eyebrow, Hally managed to squeeze her way past, laughing apologetically as she backed out of the flat.

She came out to Rose and The Doctor on the balcony. "You don't need me. Go and celebrate history. Spend some time with your mum." The Doctor was trying to edge away from the door.

"Promise you won't disappear?" Rose demanded.

Hally frowned. "Woah, Woah, you're not leaving me alone in there!" She hissed at him.

The Doctor waved his hands. "You've got Rose!" He turned back to his human companion. "Tell you what. Tardis key. It's about time you had one. See you later. Plus I'm leaving my daughter with you… so I have to come back." He grinned.

Hally raised an eyebrow sarcastically. "Really?"

The Doctor winced. "Fair enough. I deserved that." Before Hally or Rose could say anything else he'd disappeared from sight.

Hally crossed her arms sighing, she turned to Rose. "Do you have anything to drink that isn't wine?"

Rose chuckled slightly, heading back inside to test out the contents of her mother's alcohol cupboard on the young Time Lord.

* * *

The Doctor had been gone for around an hour now and after Rose had tried and failed to find Hally an alcoholic drink that she'd liked, the pair had sat themselves on the sofa. Rose, because she wanted to be closer to TV to see if she could hear anything useful that she could tell The Doctor, Hally because she wanted to avoid the rest of the humans.

Jackie held up her wine glass, she was swaying slightly. "Here's to the Martians!"

The small crowd in the room, cheered and raised their own glasses. "The Martians!"

Hally frowned. "I don't actually think they're from Mars…." Rose just sent her a look and Hally trailed off. "Right…ok." But Rose wasn't looking at Hally anymore, she was looking behind her. Hally turned around to see what Rose was looking at. It was Mickey. "Oh…" Hally whispered, turning back slowly to send Rose a look that said 'this is awkward'.

"I was going to come and see you…" Rose started quickly, standing up.

Ru piped up. "Someone owes Mickey an apology."

Rose looked at the floor. "I'm sorry."

"Not you." Ru muttered, giving Jackie a pointed look.

"Well, it's not my fault. Be fair. What was I supposed to think?" Jackie shrugged.

Mickey came further into the room and pulled Rose into a tight hug. Mickey motioned towards the kitchen, obviously wanting to reunite with Rose in private but Jackie got up too. Rose turned around to Hally and quickly motioned for her to follow them.

Hally shook her head, eyes widening. "Err, I really don't think you need me…" She tried to sink further into the sofa but Rose bent down and pulled her up by the arm, dragging her into the kitchen with her boyfriend… and her mother.

Hally groaned inwardly, standing herself in the corner of the kitchen, as far away as possible from the little domestic scene that was about to happen.

"You disappear, who do they turn to? Your boyfriend. Five times I was taken in for questioning. Five times. No evidence. Course, there couldn't be, could there? And then I get her, your mother, whispering around the estate, pointing the finger. Stuff through my letterbox, and all 'cos of you." Mickey explained, Jackie sipped her wine, looking slightly guilty.

"I didn't think I'd be gone so long." Rose tried to explain, again her excuses coming out rather pathetic.

Hally coughed awkwardly, trying to skim along the wall to the exit. "I can wait outside…" She tried to put on a kind smile but Rose cut her off.

"No! No. It's fine. You can be in here. You can tell 'em, about The Doctor." Rose nodded. Jackie shot Hally a suspicious glare.

"I waited for you, Rose! Twelve months, waiting for you and the Doctor to come back!"

Hally slumped back against the wall as they started fighting again, she spotted a bottle on the table, she picked it up and turned it around. Malibu. She hadn't tried that one yet. She took a swig as Mickey exclaimed triumphantly.

"I might as well, 'cos you're stuck here. The Doctor's gone. Just now. That box thing just faded away."

Hally coughed from the burn of the alcohol, although she had to admit, it was less disgusting than the others.

Rose frowned, shooting Hally a look. "What do you mean?"

Mickey continued, gaining confidence. "He's left you. Some boyfriend he turned out to be!" He added smugly. Rose looked questioningly at Hally. Hally shrugged awkwardly, putting the bottle down slowly as if the humans wouldn't notice she'd had a swig.

"It wouldn't be the first time…" She added, a little too bitterly. She instantly felt bad because Rose's eyes flashed in panic and she ran out of the flat. Mickey followed her out, calling after her.

Hally let out a soft groan, pushing herself off the wall, resigned to follow Rose. They'd run down to the alleyway where The Doctor's TARDIS had been parked.

"He wouldn't just go, he promised me!" Rose was walking around anxiously, staring at the empty space where the TARDIS had been.

Mickey crossed his arms, smirking. "Oh, he's dumped you, Rose. Sailed off into space. How does it feel, huh? Now you are left behind with the rest of us Earthlings. Get used to it."

Hally raised an eyebrow.

"He would have said…" She sent another desperate look at Hally.

Hally winced, she wanted to make the human feel better. "I am at least 70% sure he'll come back?" Hally offered. This only seemed to make thing worse.

The three began bickering again, Rose was getting increasingly anxious. Then, Hally heard the unmistakable sound of the TARDIS materialising and she grinned. "See! 70%!"

But Rose wasn't listening, because Rose was hopelessly trying to get her mum to go back inside the flat.

Jackie stared. "How'd you do that, then?"

Rose ignored her mother heading quickly to the doors of the TARDIS, she turned back to Hally apologetically. "Could you just… keep them out here?" Hally's mouth opened to shout a definitive NO, but Rose had already disappeared.

There was no way Hally would have even had a chance to stop both Jackie and Mickey as they barged their way past her to the doors of the TARDIS. She whined and followed behind them.

Rose looked back as she heard the TARDIS door open again, she shot Hally an irritated look which Hally returned before Rose approached The Doctor.

"My mum's here." She looked back, biting her bottom lip.

The Doctor turned to see the small convoy of humans Rose had brought with her. "Oh, that's just what I need. Don't you dare make this place domestic!"

Mickey stepped up, wanting in on the action. "You ruined my life, Doctor. They thought she was dead. I was a murder suspect because of you!"

"You see what I mean? Domestic." He said, pointedly at Rose.

Hally climbed up to the console, standing on the other side of The Doctor. "Please don't leave me with them again…" She muttered irritably.

"I bet you don't even remember my name." Mickey chirped.

"Ricky"

"It's Mickey."

"No, it's Ricky."

Hally sighed. It was like he was trying to make her life worse…

"I think I know my own name."

"You _think_ you know your own name? How stupid are you?!" The Doctor countered. Hally rolled her eyes.

Rose interrupted the spat, running out of the TARDIS after her mum. "Mum, don't!" She turned back to the two men fighting. "Don't go anywhere. Don't start a fight!" She pointed a finger at The Doctor before running after her mother.

Hally grinned inappropriately at both Mickey and The Doctor, they both sent her a strange look, but it stopped the fighting. A few moments later Rose ran back in, throwing Mickey a small smile, she moved back beside The Doctor, who was rubbing his face, deep in thought.

"That was a real spaceship…" She muttered, looking at him questioningly after The Doctor had explained the 'fake alien' he'd found at the hospital.

"Yep." He replied, unhelpfully.

"So it's all a pack of lies? What is it, then? Are they invading?" Rose put her hands on her hips. Mickey scoffed.

"Funny way to invade, putting the world on red alert."

"Good point!" The Doctor nodded at him like he was congratulating a small child. "So, what're they up to?"

Hally leant against the console. "Sounds like they want someone's attention… broadcasting alien existence to Earth and all that." She waved her hands out in front of her. The Doctor nodded slowly.

"Exactly, but why…" He paused for a second before jumping up and ushering Mickey off of the grating he was stood on. He quickly pulled it up, jumping down in between the wires of the TARDIS. He got out his sonic screwdriver, starting to fiddle about.

Mickey leant over watching him. "So, what're you doing down there?"

"Ricky..." The Doctor began.

"Mickey." Mickey tried to correct.

"Ricky." The Doctor smiled patronisingly. "If I was to tell you what I was doing to the controls of my frankly magnificent time ship, would you even begin to understand?"

Mickey shuffled on his feet, shrugging. "I suppose not." He said finally.

"Well, shut it, then." The Doctor smiled unkindly.

Hally rolled her eyes. "He's only saying that because he doesn't really understand what he's doing either." She quipped. The Doctor snorted a laugh, shaking his head.

"Make yourself useful will you." He beckoned her down with one hand, the screwdriver in his mouth. "Put your finger over this." She slipped down into the small hole, The Doctor guided her hand to a wire and she held her hand over it as he'd asked. She could hear Rose trying to apologise to Mickey for The Doctor's terrible sense of humour.

The Doctor shifted slightly, putting his screwdriver in his mouth again, he fished around in his pocket for a second. He pulled out a TARDIS key.

"I realised I never gave you one…" He muttered, his voice was gentle and quiet enough that the two humans above them wouldn't hear.

"If you're staying?" He held it out to her, his face was sincere.

Hally smiled slightly, looking up at him. "Yeah…" She shrugged, pretending the gesture didn't bother her. "I'm staying." She added nonchalantly.

The Doctor smiled slightly, seeing straight through her act.

"Good." He plopped the key into her hand. He turned back to the wires in his hands, letting out a victorious yelp.

"Got it! Ha, ha! Patched in the radar, looped it back twelve hours so we can follow the flight of that spaceship!" He hopped out from underneath the console, bounding over to the monitor. Hally pulled herself up, looking over his shoulder. He showed the trajectory on the screen.

"That's the spaceship on its way to Earth, see? Except. Hold on. See? The spaceship did a slingshot round the Earth before it landed." He expanded the screen so they could all see the dot where the spaceship had taken off from.

"What does that mean?" Rose asked.

The Doctor pursed his lips. "It means it came from Earth in the first place. It went up and came back down. Whoever those aliens are, they haven't just arrived, they've been here for a while…" He looked up at them. "The question is, what have they been doing?"

The Doctor started to pull up the news on the monitor, pausing on a particular report.

"It is looking likely that the Government's bringing in alien specialists - those people who have devoted their lives to studying outer space." The reporter said.

"UNIT." The Doctor explained, Hally looked up at him, eyebrow raised. "United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Good people." He nodded at her.

Rose leant in closer to the screen. "How do you know them?"

Before The Doctor could reply, Mickey chimed in. "'Cos he's worked for them." He nodded smugly. "Oh yeah, don't think I sat on my backside for twelve months, Doctor. I read up on you. You look deep enough on the Internet or in the history books, and there's his name, followed by a list of the dead."

Hally frowned.

"That's nice." The Doctor tutted sarcastically. He shook his head. "Good boy, Ricky."

Rose brushed off her boyfriend's comment. "If you know them, why don't you go and help?"

"They wouldn't recognise me. I've changed a lot since the old days." The Doctor started pushing a few buttons on the screen, listening to the report.

Hally crossed her arms. "You mean all that time you were gone… you were hanging around this backwater-"

"Don't be rude." He cut her off. "Besides, the world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there and fake aliens. We want to keep these aliens out of the mix. I'm going undercover. And er, I'd better keep the Tardis out of sight. Ricky, you've got a car. You can do some driving!" He grinned at Mickey.

Mickey stuttered. "Where to?"

"The roads are clearing. Let's go and have a look at that spaceship." He clapped his hands together, heading to the TARDIS doors.

Hally was the last one out of the TARDIS, as soon as she shut the door behind her they were all lit up by a blinding light coming from above. Hally tried to shield her eyes with her hand, she could see the outline of two helicopters circling them. Police cars cornered them from both sides. Mickey didn't hesitate, he ran as fast as he could, dodging the policemen that lined the alleyway.

"Do not move! Step away from the box and raise your hands above your heads!" Hally realised then that they were also holding guns. Rose's mum came running out of the house crying out for her daughter, one of the policemen grabbed her, holding her back.

"Raise your hands above your head!" The policeman repeated when none of them moved. "You are under arrest."

Hally, Rose and The Doctor slowly raised their hands. Hally looked up to see that The Doctor was grinning like a madman.

"Take me to your leader!" He cried.

* * *

They had been escorted to Number 10, Downing Street. The apparent residence of the leader of the small country that Rose lived on.

As they got out of the car, they were circled by the bright lights of cameras as the reporters tried to get a good view of them. The Doctor grinned at the cameras, Hally winced as one of the lights went off in her face.

"Oh, my God." Rose muttered. Slightly bewildered at the attention.

They were quickly ushered inside and into an official-looking waiting room. It was full of important looking people. The red walls looked quite dated, especially with the half-way up wooden panelling. Hally wandered away from The Doctor to a little table of refreshments that had been laid out for the attendees.

Suddenly a thin, stressed looking man appeared at the doorway. "Ladies and gentlemen, can we convene? Quick as we can, please. It's this way on the right, and can I remind you ID cards are to be worn at all times." He was waving madly, herding all the important looking people into a room. Hally moved back over to The Doctor, who was being handed one of the ID cards by – Hally checked his ID card – Ganesh.

"Here's your ID card," Ganesh explained quickly, he looked awkwardly at Hally and Rose. "I'm sorry, your companions don't have clearance."

Hally crossed her arms, unimpressed.

The Doctor took the ID card, popping it on. "I don't go anywhere without them." He stated matter of factly.

Hally had to bite down the sarcastic comment that instantly rose to mind, it didn't seem like the time or the place.

"You're the code nine, not them. I'm sorry, Doctor. It is the Doctor, isn't it? They'll have to stay outside." He added firmly. Hally smiled, slightly impressed at the man's authority despite the glare he was receiving from The Doctor.

The Doctor huffed impatiently. "She's my daughter, how has she not got the same clearance as me?" He shook his head. "They're staying with me." He said.

Ganesh looked Hally up and down. "We know who she is… she's not going in. Look, even **I** don't have clearance to go in there. I can't let them in and that's a fact."

The Doctor looked ready to argue but Rose touched his arm gently. "It's all right. You go."

Hally smiled kindly at Ganesh. "We'll be fine here."

An older lady with a slightly stern face quickly approached the Doctor. "Excuse me. Are you the Doctor?"

Ganesh seemed to recognise her, he groaned loudly. "Not now. We're busy. Can't you go home?" He said rudely.

The woman added quickly. "I just need a word in private."

The Doctor gave Rose a look. "Don't get in any trouble." With that, he nodded at Hally and headed into the room with the other alien 'experts'.

"You haven't got clearance. Now leave it." He continued to berate the woman before turning back to Hally and Rose, he grimaced. "I'm going to have to leave you two with security."

The lady piped up at this, taking Rose by the arm. "It's all right. I'll look after them! Let me be of some use." She gave him a fake smile, grabbing onto Hally's wrist with her other hand, guiding them away from Ganesh. "Walk with me. Just keep walking…" The lady muttered, her tone completely changing to one of fear as she walked them out into the entrance hall.

"That's right. Don't look round." She continued pulling them along until they were out of anyone's earshot. Hally sent Rose a look, Rose gave her a confused smile. "Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North." Harriet held up her ID badge confidently.

She looked around, checking for any prying eyes. "This friend of yours, he's an expert, is that right? He knows about aliens?" She whispered to them both.

Rose raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Why do you want to know?"

Harriet opened her mouth to reply but instead a quiet wail escaped her and she broke down into tears. Hally looked at her, mildly taken aback. Rose gently placed a hand on Harriet's shoulder, trying to calm her. She shot Hally an irritated look and Hally realised that her face had been pulled into a grimace. She coughed and tried to make her voice sound soothing.

"It's alright… why don't you show us?" She tried, Harriet pulled out a handkerchief, blowing her nose. She nodded quickly, leading them into a large room with a long rectangular table in the middle, she tried to vocalise as much as she could of what she'd witnessed in the room. Hally quickly scanned around, it looked like a room where important people did importantish things. Harriet moved directly to the other side of the table. She pulled out a floppy skin suit from the chair, showing them both.

"They turned the body into a suit. A disguise for the thing inside!" She held it up, Hally moved around the table to take a closer look.

"Woah, this is… well. It's a lot higher tech than the spaceship was anyway…" She trailed off, giving it a short sniff.

Rose had started moving around the room, opening all the cupboards she could find. She shrieked and Hally turned to see a man's body fall out of a tall cupboard.

"Oh, my God! Is that the-" Rose started, but she was interrupted by Ganesh entering the room abruptly.

"Harriet, for God's sake. This has gone beyond a joke. You cannot just wander…" He stopped upon seeing the dead body. "Oh, my God. That's the Prime Minister!"

Hally looked down at the body. "Oh… so _he's_ meant to be in charge." A sharp giggle from the doorway got everyone's attention.

A short, plump, blonde lady with an unkind smile stalked into the room. She was looking at each of them like she was a cat who'd just caught four canaries.

"Oh! Has someone been naughty?" She giggled again horribly.

Ganesh looked between the woman and the Prime Minister. "That's impossible. He left this afternoon. The Prime Minister left Downing Street. He was driven away!" He tried desperately.

The woman smiled, it wasn't a nice smile. "And who told you that, hmm?" She raised an eyebrow. "Me."

Hally took a step forward, putting herself protectively in front of Rose and Harriet.

The woman smirked, reaching up to her hairline where she took hold of a zip and slowly began to unzip the top of her head.

"Skinsuit…" Hally muttered, turning to give Rose a worried look.

They all watched, transfixed as a large, green creature, easily over 6 foot tall, squeezed its way out of the skinsuit. Hally's eyes widened as it flexed its long arms, uncurling the sharp claws of its hands. Before Hally could move, the creature grabbed poor Ganesh in her massive talons, pushing him mercilessly against the wall.

Hally watched as the creature crushed the life out of him, turning its head to consider the three that remained. Hally quickly tried to throw up a shield between herself and the monster, with Rose and Harriet safely behind her. The shield flickered into life, a very thin golden sheen appearing between the alien and Hally.

Almost as soon as it had been raised, the shield flickered weakly and died. The green creature laughed cruelly, taking a step towards them.

* * *

_ll_

_Hally looked closer into the mirror, finally noticing the thin, golden band that ran around her neck. She brought her fingers up to it, it didn't seem to have a clasp. No way to get it off. It shimmered brightly under the dim lights. She frowned at it, looked like some kind of dampener?_

_She lay back on the cot, staring up at the ceiling. Everything felt off, she couldn't quite put her finger on it. To be honest she couldn't really get her thoughts straight at all. Every time she tried to think, tried to work out where she was, or even remember the last place she'd been it was like the thought just floated away. Lost again._

_Hally rubbed her hands over her eyes, trying and failing to get a clear picture of what had happened before she'd woken up here._

_After what must have been hours, a skinny guard dressed in black approached the bars of her cell. Hally sat up, watching him. He unlocked the door to her cell, opening it out, he beckoned for her to move out. Hally's eyes flicked down to his belt where she saw handcuffs and what was probably Taser. She stood and calmly exited the cell. She frowned. Shouldn't she be running? A calm fog descended over her thoughts._ No. Where would she run?

_The guard escorted her quietly down the corridor. Hally realised that it was lined with cells just like her own, similarly dressed women in each one. She was led through multiple doors of the compound, there were minimal windows and the windows that were there had thick bars in front of the glass. Hally could see glimpses of a blue sky, green in the distance. She frowned._

_The guard stopped outside a clinical, white door._

" _The Doctor will see you now."_


	22. Part 2 - Chapter 22

The creature's long, thick talons were making their way towards Hally's face. She swallowed nervously, eyes flicking around the room for an escape. The creature suddenly let out a pained whine and raised its hands to its head, writhing in agony. Hally frowned, watching it in confusion. Luckily Rose instantly took the opportunity and pulled Hally back by her wrist, pushing Harriet towards the door.

Hally stumbled, catching her balance as she allowed Rose to pull her out of the Cabinet room, they went to run down the corridor taking them further away from the creature in the room, when Harriet stopped, turning back.

"No, wait. They're still in there. The emergency protocols. We need them!" Right on cue, the creature let out a furious screech. It rounded on them, running quickly towards the trio.

Hally grabbed Harriet's shoulder. "They're going to have to wait." Hally said, matter of factly. "Move!"

All three of them sprinted along the corridor, the sound of wood splintering behind them as the creature slashed its way through the doors.

Rose grabbed hold of Hally's arm as they ran, Hally turned to look at her, the girl was panting but Hally could see the determination.

"What was that?! That shield thing?!" Rose shouted.

"Can we do this later?!" Hally shot her a look, glancing back down the corridor at the very sharp claws approaching. The three of them came to an abrupt halt, they'd run themselves into a dead end. Behind them, the creature was advancing. Hally looked towards the lift, wondering if they'd have enough time to escape if she called it now.

"Hello!" The lift doors had suddenly opened to reveal The Doctor. Hally took the opportunity, while the creature was distracted to push Rose and Harriet behind it and through the nearest door.

Hally scanned the room quickly. Another dead end.

"Hide!" Rose hissed as she dived behind a cabinet. Harriet rushed to hide behind a tall folding screen by the windows. Hally winced, finding nowhere better than behind the large settee.

"Oh, such fun. Little human children, where are you? Sweet little humeykins, come to me. Let me kiss you better. Kiss you with my big, green lips." The creature that had once been the squat, blonde woman made a horrible sound that Hally assumed must have been her pretending to kiss them. Hally pulled a face and out of the corner of her eye, saw Rose successfully move from behind the cabinet to behind a curtain, unseen.

Hally sniffed the air, there were more of them.

"My brothers." The female cooed.

"Happy hunting?" A lower voice chimed in, Hally could hear the smug smile the creature was no doubt wearing.

"It's wonderful. The more you prolong it, the more they stink." She laughed cruelly.

"Sweat and fear…" A slimy voice added.

"I can smell an old girl. Stale bird and brittle bones."

Hally raised an eyebrow, trying to think. They were hunting as a pack… that was interesting.

"And a ripe youngster, all hormones and adrenalin. Fresh enough to bend before she snaps." The female licked her lips.

Hally tried to wrack her brains.

"And there's something else… something different…" One of them took a long sniff of the air.

Hally heard a growl of pleasure. "Smells of power…. Power and grief."

Hally pulled a face and locked eyes with Rose, she silently lifted up her arm, trying to smell her armpit to see if she could smell anything. Rose had to cover her mouth with her hand to stifle a laugh. Hally looked up just in time to see one of the creatures pull back the curtain hiding Rose. The blonde screamed loudly.

Hally lunged forward, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her out of the way as the creature swiped its huge claws down. The creature began to turn on them.

Harriet appeared from behind the folding screen, waving her arms madly. "No! Take me first! Take me!"

Before Hally could even consider a terribly thought out escape plan, The Doctor burst in, a red fire extinguisher at the ready. He unloaded the gas onto the nearest creature, it let out a harsh cry of frustration.

"Out, with me!" The Doctor shouted.

They didn't need telling twice. Rose yanked the curtain down over another of the green giants and the trio ran over to side with The Doctor, backing out the room as he filled it with carbon dioxide.

The Doctor flashed a look to Harriet. "Who the hell are you?" He asked rudely.

Harriet took it in her stride and despite their current situation, held out her hand professionally. "Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North."

The Doctor nodded. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." She returned his nod of respect.

The fire extinguisher ran out with a soft whine. The Doctor chucked it off to the side.

"We need to head to the Cabinet Room."

Harriet nodded quickly. "The Emergency Protocols are in there. They give instructions for aliens."

The Doctor smiled, his ears wiggling happily. "Harriet Jones, I like you."

"And I like you too." Harriet smiled. The moment was swiftly interrupted by the re-emergence of the creatures, screaming angrily as they charged at the group.

"Time to go!" Hally cried and they quickly sprinted out of the room, The Doctor leading them back towards the cabinet room they'd only recently escaped.

Hally took a peek over her shoulder as they ran along the corridor. "Still following!" She shouted, hoping The Doctor had some sort of plan for when they arrived in the cabinet room that would prevent them from being sliced into tiny pieces.

The Doctor skidded to a halt as he swiped up a decanter of alcohol from a desk near the doorway. Rose and Harriet noticed he'd stopped running and awkwardly came to a halt, Hally had to grab onto the corner of a side table to stop herself from barreling into them. She stepped up beside The Doctor, keeping Rose and Harriet safely behind them.

"One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol." He confidently held the sonic screwdriver to the glass of the decanter. "Whoof! We all go up. So back off." He warned, his voice darkening.

Hally narrowed her eyes, shooting a small look of disbelief at The Doctor.

_This._

_This is the plan?!_

To Hally's amazement, the creatures actually took a step back at The Doctor's threat.

She could hear the grin in his voice as he clutched the decanter into his chest. "Right then. Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?"

Harriet piped up from behind them. "They're aliens."

"Yes. I got that, thanks." The Doctor quipped back.

"Who are you, if not human?" One of the Slitheen countered, its eyes blinking mockingly.

"Who's not human?" Harriet whispered.

Rose whispered back. "They're not human."

"Not human?" Harriet gasped.

The Doctor sighed and shot them both a look. "Can I have a bit of hush?"

"Sorry." Harriet winced.

The Doctor turned back to the Slitheen, who were patiently waiting for The Doctor's attention. "So, what's the plan?"

Harriet tried and again failed to whisper quietly to Rose. "But he's got a Northern accent…"

Hally snorted, turning back to the pair. "Just bad luck really…"

The Doctor coughed. "I said hush." He shot Hally a look. "Come on. You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way to the top of government. What for, invasion?"

The Slitheen on the left laughed. "Why would we invade this _God-forsaken rock_?"

Hally cocked her head to one side. "That was my initial thought with the Nestene… but apparently it's the done thing?" She shrugged nonchalantly.

Hally was sure The Doctor had stamped his foot at that. "Hush…" He huffed and looked back at the Slitheen. "Then something's brought the Slitheen race here. What is it?"

"The Slitheen race?" The one on the left asked, amused.

Another one chimed in. "Slitheen is not our species. Slitheen is our surname." He straightened up proudly. "Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day-Slitheen at your service."

The Doctor raised his head slightly in understanding. "So, you're family."

"A family business." He smirked proudly.

"Then you're out to make a profit." The Doctor concluded.

"On a 'God-forsaken rock'?" Hally raised an eyebrow. The Doctor looked at her thoughtfully.

One of the Slitheen coughed insincerely. "Ah, excuse me?" Hally and The Doctor looked back to the trio of Slitheen. "Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability?"

The Doctor's face fell. "Is that what I said?"

Hally brought her hand up to her face, groaning inwardly.

"You're making it up." The Slitheen took a threatening step forward.

The Doctor shrugged. "Ah, well! Nice try. Harriet, have a drink. I think you're gonna need it." The Doctor went to pass the decanter to Harriet but she looked back at him, the red cabinet box clutched in her hands.

"You pass it to the left first." She offered.

"Sorry." The Doctor quickly chucked it at Rose, who caught it with a 'thanks!'

The Slitheen were skulking towards them again, a cruel smirk pulling at each of their mouths. "Now we can end this hunt with a slaughter."

Rose took a swig of the decanter, swallowing hard. "Don't you think we should run?" She aimed at The Doctor. "Or… do one of those shield thingies?" Rose flashed her eyes at Hally meaningfully. Hally cut her off with a sharp shake of her head.

The Doctor had begun to back them all into the cabinet room behind them. "Fascinating history, Downing Street." He started to ramble. "Two thousand years ago, this was marshland. 1730, it was occupied by a Mister Chicken. He was a nice man. 1796, this was the Cabinet Room. If the Cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four most safest walls in the whole of Great Britain." He grinned. "End of lesson."

With that he lifted a small panel by the door, pressing the button underneath. Metal shutters crashed closed across all the windows and doors in the room.

The Doctor turned to them, obviously proud of himself.

"Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in." He grinned.

"And how do we get out?" Rose asked, crossing her arms.

"Ah."

The Doctor had quickly regained his vigour and was currently moving the body of Ganesh into a small storeroom alongside the body of the recently deceased Prime Minister. He straightened up, looking down at the body, an unreadable look on his face.

"What was his name?" He suddenly asked, to no one in particular.

"Who?" Harriet, who was standing closest to the door to the store cupboard asked.

"This one." The Doctor motioned down to his body. "The secretary or whatever he was called."

Hally leant over the table, peering into the small room. "Ganesh…" She called over to them. Both The Doctor and Harriet turned back to look at her, a look of surprise crossed over The Doctor's face.

She frowned slightly. "It was on his badge…" Hally shrugged, resting back into the chair she'd sat herself in, pouring over some of the documents inside the Emergency Protocols.

Harriet looked down sadly, muttering under her breath. "I talked to him. I brought him a cup of coffee. I never asked his name." Hally shot her a slightly sympathetic look.

Rose moved over to join Harriet near the doorway to the cupboard, Hally flipped over the page reading, it was clear from the protocols that the earth technology was primitive, it certainly begged the question of why the Slitheen thought it would be worth their time invading?

_If it's not an invasion what is it? What sort of family business benefits from this?_

Harriet interrupted Hally's thoughts. "...The Protocols are redundant. They list the people who could help and they're all dead downstairs." She leant against the desk. Rose appeared on Hally's other side, bending down to read.

"Hasn't it got, like, defence codes and things? Couldn't we just launch a nuclear bomb at them?" She quipped. Hally couldn't help but laugh.

"You're a very violent young woman." Harriet mused, straightening up and looking at Rose.

Hally smirked. "It's why we get along."

"I'm serious. We could." Rose insisted. Harriet sighed and picked up the documents from the desk, she quickly explained to them that nuclear codes were inaccessible unless released directly by the UN.

Hally leant back in her chair, resting her hands on the back of her head. "Do you think they want the codes for themselves?" She mused out loud. She looked over at The Doctor who was deep in thought. "But what would they need with these primitive Earth weapons?"

The Doctor's frown deepened. "Well, they're just one family, so it's not an invasion." He looked up at Hally. "They don't want 'Slitheen World', they're out to make money." Hally nodded in agreement, he continued. "That means they want to use something. Something here on Earth. Some kind of asset?" He turned to the humans.

"Like what, gold? Oil? Water?" Harriet offered. The Doctor smiled.

"You're very good at this."

"Thank you." She looked a little pleased with herself.

The Doctor rubbed a hand over his head, starting to pace. "Harriet Jones. Why do I know that name?" He muttered.

Rose's phone went off with a sharp beep that broke the tense silence that had fallen over them. She checked it quickly. "It's Mickey."

The Doctor scoffed. "Oh, tell your stupid boyfriend we're busy."

"Yeah, he's not so stupid after all…" Rose muttered, holding up her phone to show them the picture on her screen. It was a Slitheen.

Rose had instantly called her boyfriend back and after a pretty chaotic few minutes, during which Hally had managed to figure out from Rose's side of the conversation that her mother had been targeted by a Slitheen, The Doctor had swiped Rose's phone from her hands. He bluntly instructed Mickey to go to his computer, talking him through hacking into a U.N.I.T database.

"Well, I've got a question, if you don't mind." Jackie cut in, while the small team were discussing the crash into Big Ben. "Since that man walked into our lives, I have been attacked in the streets... I have had creatures from the pits of hell, in my own living room! And my daughter disappears off the face of the Earth." Rose sighed, quickly stepping in to try and defend The Doctor.

"I told you what happened."

Jackie cut her daughter off. "I'm talking to him." Her tone was dangerous. "'Cos I've seen this life of yours, Doctor. And maybe you get off on it, and maybe you think it's all clever and smart, but you just answer me this. Is my daughter safe?"

There was an uncomfortable silence when The Doctor didn't answer. Again Rose tried to help "I'm fine."

"Is she safe? Will she always be safe? Can you promise me that?" Jackie escalated. "Well, what's the answer!?"

The Doctor was saved by Mickey who let them know he'd cracked into the U.N.I.T system with a quick. "We're in."

The Doctor jumped on the change in subject. "Now then, on the left at the top, there's a tab, an icon. Little concentric circles. Click on that…"

Hally was pacing at the top of the room as The Doctor listened to the noise of the Slitheen signal that was now being relayed through Rose's phone. She shook her head, she'd been at war and strategy was a bit of a strong point for her. Why was none of this making sense?

"The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that signal. Now hush, let me work out what it's saying. It's some sort of message."

Hally cocked her head listening. "Are they sending out a message to the rest of their family?" She suggested. "Or maybe other families…" She bit her lip. "Could there be a chance their planet was destroyed? And they're looking for habitation?" She raised an eyebrow.

The Doctor was about to say something when the noise of a doorbell distorted through Rose's phone.

"Hush!" The Doctor exclaimed irritably. Mickey mumbled something on the other side of the phone.

The Doctor circled around, bringing the palms of his hands together, pointing them at Hally. "It's beaming out into space, who's it for?" He bounced towards her.

There was a noise of distress from Jackie and suddenly Mickey's voice was back at the phone.

"They've found us!"

The Doctor leapt back to the phone. "Mickey, I need that signal!"

Rose pushed him out of the way, shouting down the phone. "Never mind the signal, get out! Mum, just get out! Get out!" Hally listened as panicked sounds erupted from down the phone, the pair seemingly trying to escape Mickey's flat.

Harriet turned to The Doctor, chastising him like a child and demanding he figure out how to help Jackie and Mickey when it became obvious the pair were trapped.

"Right!" The Doctor started. "If we're going to find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from. Which planet." He looked at Hally. "So, judging by their basic shape, that narrows it down to five thousand planets within travelling distance." He looked back at Rose and Harriet. "What else do we know about them? Information!" He demanded.

Rose blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "They're green."

The Doctor nodded. "Yep, narrows it down."

"Good sense of smell." She added after a moment.

"Narrows it down."

"They can smell adrenalin." Rose remembered suddenly.

"The nictitating membrane!" Hally added quickly.

"Narrows it down." The Doctor closed his eyes, thinking.

"The pig technology." Harriet chimed in.

"Narrows it down."

"The spaceship in the Thames!" Rose added off the back of that. "You said slipstream engine?"

"Narrows it down."

Mickey's panicked voice cut in. "It's getting in!"

Rose sucked in a breath, trying to think. "They hunt like it's a ritual!"

"Narrows it down."

"Wait a minute." Harriet started, drawing focus. "Did you notice? When they fart, if you'll pardon the word, it doesn't just smell like a fart, if you'll pardon the word, it's something else. What is it? It's more like, umm." She faltered.

"Bad breath!" Rose offered.

"That's it!" Harriet grinned, nodding.

"Calcium decay!" Hally shouted, turning back to The Doctor.

"Now, that narrows it down!" He grinned, clapping his hands together and concentrating as Rose tried to calm Mickey down.

"Calcium phosphate. Organic calcium." The Doctor muttered.

"Creatures that are basically living calcium!" Hally encouraged, wracking her brains.

The Doctor paced shortly up and down. "What else? What else? Hyphenated surname. Yes! That narrows it down to one planet.

"Raxacoricofallapatorius!" Hally shouted, The Doctor grinned madly and Hally couldn't help her small spring of triumph. "Yes! I did learn something!" She punched the air, earning her a very strange look from Harriet.

Her victory was apparently unappreciated by Mickey, however. "Oh, yeah, great. We could write 'em a letter!" He shouted sarcastically down the phone.

The Doctor quickly instructed Mickey and Jackie into the kitchen of the flat. "Calcium, weakened by the compression field. Acetic acid. Vinegar!" He was running with his thoughts, quickly trying to come up with a plan.

"Just like Hannibal!" Harriet shouted. It was Hally's turn to look at Harriet in confusion. The Doctor seemed to understand it however.

"Just like Hannibal. Mickey, have you got any vinegar?"

Mickey didn't know. With the swift help of Jackie and Rose, the two located a variety of pickled foods. Jackie must have thrown the concoction over the advancing Slitheen, because moments later there were cries of triumph down the phone.

Rose let out a cry of relief and the small group confined in the cabinet room took a moment to toast with a glass of port from the decanter. The Doctor shot Hally a look, considering her warily.

She laughed. "Really? Are you about to chastise me for 'underage' drinking?" He chuckled lightly, his eyes twinkling in amusement.

Their toast, however, was cut short by Mickey back on the phone. "Listen to this." A new voice could now be heard from the device, the Slitheen disguising itself as council member Green was addressing the population on the TV.

"Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads and they have found massive weapons of destruction capable of being deployed within forty-five seconds." Green explained, playing the fear into his voice.

"What?" The Doctor interrupted abruptly.

"Our technicians can baffle the alien probes, but not for long. We are facing extinction, unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mother ship. I beg of the United Nations, pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes." The group in the cabinet room shared a look of realisation. "A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our only chance of survival because from this moment on, it is my solemn duty to inform you planet Earth is at war."

The Doctor straightened up, visibly irked. "He's making it up. There's no weapons up there, there's no threat. He just invented it." He waved his arms in frustration.

"Do you think they'll believe him?" Harriet asked.

Rose countered quickly. "They did last time."

The Doctor was pacing now, it was beginning to put Hally on edge. She braced herself against the back of one of the chairs. Trying to calmly express what The Doctor was probably thinking. " _That's_ why they went for spectacle… If the whole planet is on red alert, mass panic then,-"

Rose cut in, catching up with their train of thought. "They release the defence codes…"

"And the Slitheen go nuclear." The Doctor finished. With that, he marched over to the metal shutters that stood between them and the corridor. He flicked on the sonic screwdriver, the metal shutter opening enough for The Doctor to see through.

"You get the codes, release the missiles, but not into space because there's nothing there. You attack every other country on Earth. They retaliate, fight back. World War Three. Whole planet gets nuked." He threw the words at the Slitheen Margaret, who had changed back into her human costume. She laughed, a horrible, sickly sound.

"And we can sit through it safe in our spaceship waiting in the Thames. Not crashed, just parked. Only two minutes away." She smirked, incredibly pleased with herself.

Harriet stepped forward. "But you'll destroy the planet, this beautiful place. What for?"

The Doctor turned to her, his face grave. "Profit. That's what the signal is beaming into space. An advert."

Hally raised her eyebrows.

"The sale of the century. We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it piece by piece. Radioactive chucks, capable of powering every cut-price starliner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor. People are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel." Margaret grinned.

"Seems a little _premature._ " Hally stepped forward, drawing Margaret's attention. "Advertising before you've actually got anything to sell?" She narrowed her eyes dangerously. Margaret laughed softly and was about to respond, but The Doctor had obviously decided that he was done playing around.

"I'll give you a choice. Leave this planet or I'll stop you." He cut in.

Margaret smirked, raising an eyebrow. "What, you? Trapped in your box?"

"Yes. Me." The Doctor bit back. At no point showing any sign of doubt.

Hally raised her eyebrow, finding herself to be a little impressed. The Doctor snapped the metal shutter closed on Margaret's laughing face, turning back to face the group. Rose quickly started to try and think up a plan again, the human didn't give up easily.

"If we could just get out of here…" She mused, Hally could hear the fear in her voice.

"There's a way out." The Doctor said quietly.

Rose practically jumped at that. "What?!" She questioned, The Doctor was reluctant, but eventually, he explained plainly that there had always been a way out. Just not necessarily alive.

Hally had actually forgotten that Jackie and Mickey were still on the other end of the phone until Jackie piped up.

"Don't you dare. Whatever it is, don't you _dare_."

The Doctor groaned, conflicted. "That's the thing. If I don't dare, everyone dies." He reasoned.

"Do it." Rose said simply, causing everyone to turn to her.

The Doctor scoffed. "You don't even know what it is. You'd just let me?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah." She added sincerely, ignoring the many shouts of protest from her mother down the phone. The Doctor turned back to the receiver, his voice grave.

"Do you think I don't know that? Because this is my life, Jackie. It's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will." He explained, his tone empathetic but direct. He looked up at Hally, his hard eyes softening for a short moment. "And it's not just me now, I've got someone to protect too."

"Then what're you waiting for?" Rose pleaded.

"I could save the world but lose you… both of you." It seemed like The Doctor was asking for her permission. Hally started to say something, but the voice in the corner ended the discussion.

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people for the people. And on behalf of the people, I command you. Do it." Harriet said, nodding with finality. The Doctor looked over to her, nodding slightly.

Rose let out a small breath. "How do we get out?" She asked quietly.

"We don't. We stay here." The Doctor said, moving around to the other side of the room, grabbing the discarded Emergency Protocols and turning his attention back to the phone.

"Use the buffalo password. It overrides everything." He quickly guided Mickey through hacking into the Royal Navy and selecting a Sub Harpoon, UGM-A4A missile. Hally could hear Jackie's protests in the background.

"You ready for this?" The Doctor paused for a moment.

There was a loud exhale of breath from the phone. "Yeah."

"Mickey the idiot, the world is in your hands." The Doctor smiled slightly. "Fire."

Hally swallowed, her hearts were suddenly beating four times as fast as normal, her blood felt like it was roaring around her body.

"How solid are these?" Harriet's voice even sounded muffled as she spoke.

"Not solid enough. Built for short-range attack, nothing this big." The Doctor sighed. Hally tried to let in a deep breath but found that she couldn't. The air seemed to get trapped.

"All right, now I'm making the decision. I'm not going to die. We're going to ride this one out. It's like what they say about earthquakes. You can survive them by standing under a doorframe. Now, this cupboard's small so it's strong. Come and help me!" Rose started to move, Harriet followed instantly. "Come on!" Rose was tugging on her arm now, the movement jolted Hally out of her trance. She allowed Rose to pull her over to the cupboard, the two human women began frantically emptying the small space so they could all get inside. Hally blinked a few times, climbing over the furniture to get inside. She felt Rose, Harriet and The Doctor follow her in, Hally closed her eyes, not that it mattered much as seconds later Harriet was closing the door and the tiny room was plunged into darkness.

Hally could hear her breath, it was so incredibly loud. Focusing was impossible but she needed to try. She felt out with her mind, feeling the structure around them, winding her consciousness around it she tried with all her energy to keep it held together.

"Here we go. Nice knowing you both. Hannibal!" Harriet cried, then there was impact.

* * *

Hally couldn't hear a thing, just a constant ringing in her ears. Light suddenly bombarded its way into their space as The Doctor pushed the steel door off the cupboard. Hally felt the cool air hit her face as the others scrambled out of the small space. She couldn't follow though, she couldn't move. It was so hot, her lungs burnt as she inhaled the dust. Her vision flickered and suddenly she wasn't curled up in a tiny cupboard in London. She was home again. Except it wasn't home, it was burning. Dying.

Dust hung in the air, it bit painfully at the inside of her lungs. A stream of light from a broken window hit the dirty brown floor, littered with rubble and broken furniture. The silence hung in the air like it was holding the oxygen away from her lungs.

She could see them again. Their bodies. Everywhere. Air caught in her throat and she struggled not to choke. Her eyes burned with tears. She couldn't move.

A dark figure appeared in front of her eyes, kneeling down in front of her. Gentle hands gripped her shoulders, shaking her slightly.

_Koschei?_

"Hally? Hey, are you ok?" The Doctor shook his daughter a little more firmly. She gasped in a deep breath, her glassy eyes regaining some of their colour. She looked up at his face in recognition, touching at her chest as she caught her breath.

"Are you alright…?" He probed, his voice was soft, his eyes trained only on her.

Hally nodded slowly. "I think so." She let out a long slow breath, grounding herself. "Shit." She let out a short laugh. "I… sorry, I think…" She shook her head, unsure of how to explain.

The Doctor nodded slowly in understanding. "It's ok. You're safe." He touched her cheek gently. Hally flinched slightly and The Doctor withdrew his hand.

"No… I didn't." Hally winced, realising what she'd done. She ran a hand over her face. "Jumpy… sorry. Turns out war is shit and I'm not over it." She laughed weakly. The Doctor stood up slowly, helping her up with his hand. She climbed out of the cupboard, taking in their now-destroyed surroundings. Hally could see Harriet was making some sort of formal statement, she looked back at The Doctor, giving him a small smile.

"Meet you back at the TARDIS?" She offered. He nodded slowly.

"Of course."

* * *

The Doctor was on the phone, well, he claimed it was a phone, it looked pretty outdated. He'd come back to the TARDIS about an hour ago and was now trying to get Rose to hurry up with her packing so they could leave. Hally chuckled softly as she heard Rose on the other end.

"Er, my mother's cooking."

The Doctor grinned. "Good. Put her on a slow heat and let her simmer."

Hally rolled her eyes in amusement, she was sat cross-legged on the metal floor, her back leant against the railings.

"She's cooking tea. For us." Rose coughed awkwardly.

The Doctor made a face. "I don't do that."

Hally spluttered slightly, whispering desperately. "More human food? Oh my god, please can we?!" She grinned hopefully.

The Doctor shook his head definitively.

"She wants to get to know you." Rose reasoned.

"Tough. I've got better things to do." The Doctor answered, to both Rose and Hally.

"No, you don't!" Hally muttered irritably.

"It's just tea." She heard Rose whine.

"Not to me, it isn't." The Doctor shot back.

Then he tried a different tactic. "Well, you can stay there if you want, but right now there's this plasma storm brewing in the Horsehead Nebula. Fires are burning ten million miles wide. I could fly the TARDIS right into the heart of it then ride the shock wave all the way out. Hurtle right across the sky and end up anywhere." He paused for dramatic effect. "Your choice."

Hally laughed, rolling her eyes. "You're mean, you know that right? That is emotional manipulation right there…" She pointed at him in mock accusation.

But, as usual, The Doctor soon got his way, he exited the TARDIS waiting for Rose outside. Hally leant herself on the console, watching him talking to Mickey on the monitor. She watched as Rose and her mother walked into the corner of the screen, she leant in closer when she saw Jackie was carrying something that looked suspiciously like…

Hally practically skipped out of the TARDIS doors as Rose was reasoning with her mother.

"Mum, if you saw it out there you'd never stay home."

"Got enough stuff?" The Doctor quipped. Rose turned on him.

"Last time I stepped in there, it was spur of the moment. Now I'm signing up. You're stuck with me."

Hally's eyes widened as her suspicions were confirmed. "Oh my god, she brought food." She made her way over to a slightly startled Jackie. "Yes! I. Am. Starving." She relieved Jackie of the multiple Tupperware, Jackie didn't protest. Hally grinned stupidly up at The Doctor who just shook his head. Rose gave Mickey a sloppy kiss goodbye before saying her goodbyes to her mum. Hally held her Tupperware close to her chest as she went back inside the TARDIS, closely followed by The Doctor and finally Rose.

* * *

It'd been a few hours since the TARDIS had dematerialised from her home, The Doctor was busy fiddling with the TARDIS console and Rose had decided that now would be a good time to ask her questions.

She found Hally sat on the floor of what appeared to be a mixture between a swimming pool and a library. She was playing around with a necklace that she'd obviously pulled out from behind her T-shirt, she was tugging at a small, silvery ring that hung on the chain. Rose let out a small cough to let her know she was there.

Hally looked up and smiled, dropping the ring and letting it fall to her chest on the chain. Rose came up beside her, sitting herself down next to The Doctor's daughter.

When Rose didn't speak, Hally raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Are you alright…?" She smiled slightly, it wasn't like the blonde to be shy.

Rose smiled back. "Yes." She looked at Hally strangely. "What _was_ that earlier? With the Slitheen? It was like magic. Can The Doctor do that?" She finally asked.

Hally laughed loudly. "Let's definitely not start calling it _magic_!" She chucked to herself, touching the ring as if sharing a private joke. She shook her head, smiling.

"No… it's." She smirked. "Well, it's complicated. No, The Doctor can't do it." She thought about it. "At least I'm pretty sure he can't." She bit her lip. "He doesn't know _either_. I will tell him…" She added quickly. "I just, need to work out the best way to do it. So I'd really appreciate it if, for a little while, this was our little secret?" Hally smiled kindly at Rose.

Rose frowned slightly, not liking the idea of lying to her new friend. But slowly, she nodded. "Ok. I guess it's not really my business, between you and… him." She motioned over her shoulder.

Hally smiled appreciatively. "Thank you." She leant back on her hands. "My relationship with my father is complicated, to say the least… we're actually being fairly civil to each other at the moment." She laughed. "And I'd quite like it to stay that way."

Rose nods in understanding. "No… I get it. Family is complicated." She laughed softly, noticing that Hally was again fiddling with the ring at her neck. She opened her mouth to question her again, but Hally's gaze had already turned back to the water of the pool. Rose closed her mouth and smiled to herself.

"I'll leave you to it." She smiled knowingly, getting to her feet. Hally nodded absentmindedly.

* * *

_lll_

_Hally stepped forward into the medical examination room as the guard held the door open. It was a small room. Four, blank, white walls illuminated by some harsh clinical lights. A tall, confident-looking blonde woman looked up from her clipboard as Hally stepped into the room. She smiled kindly, gesturing for Hally to take a seat on the examination table as she approached. Hally's eye flickered nervously around the room but she couldn't see anything particularly untoward. It seemed like a fairly standard, earth clinical consultation room. She looked back up to the woman in front of her, whose eyes were twinkling patiently. She was wearing a long white coat, her stethoscope balanced around her neck._

" _My name is Dr Pearce, I just going to need to check you over. Please, take a seat." She motioned again towards the table._

_Hally looked back behind her, the guard had closed the door behind her and was now stationed directly outside the door. She heard Dr Pearce let out a small sigh._

" _Look, either way, I've got to examine you, so we can do it the easy way… or I have to bring in our little soldier friend out there…" Hally looked back to the Dr, she gave Hally a small sympathetic smile._

_Without saying anything Hally sat down onto the table, lying back so Dr Pearce continued._

_Pearce smiled appreciatively as she approached Hally's right side. The pair were mainly silent while the Dr performed multiple examinations, just instructing Hally to lean forward, breathe etc. here and there. She placed two monitors on Hally's temples, checking something on the screen._

_Hally watched the Dr's movements carefully. She went on to listen to Hally's heartbeats, test her circulation and reflexes. Hally frowned to herself slightly. After each reading, the Dr would jot down a few numbers and scribble some notes onto her clipboard. Hally could feel a fog stifling her thoughts of confusion. Shouldn't some of her vital signs be flagging something?_

_The thought floated off as Dr Pearce picked up a needle and vial._

" _I just need to take a small amount of blood." Hally didn't say anything, Dr Pearce obviously took that as consent as she starting feeling at Hally's arm to find a vein. She pressed the small needle into her skin, the vial slowly beginning to fill._

" _Do you have any current sexual partners?" Dr Pearce asked, rather out of the blue._

_Hally raised an eyebrow, sending her a scathing look. "Why do you need to know?"_

" _Any chance you could be pregnant." Pearce rephrased kindly._

" _No." Hally bit back quickly._

" _Do you mind if I check?" Dr Pearce raised an eyebrow slightly, unconvinced._

" _I doubt I could stop you?" Hally quipped back, the sarcasm obvious in her voice._

_Dr Pearce frowned slightly at that, her eyes flickered momentarily to Hally's neck. Hally noticed and was suddenly reminded of the golden band that was seemingly a new permanent addition to her neck._

" _What is it?" Hally asked, touching the cool, golden band lightly with her fingers._

_Dr Pearce paused for a moment, looking warily at Hally. Hally frowned, bewildered by the look on Dr Pearce's face._

_Dr Pearce, however, remained silent, removing the needle from Hally's arm, pressing a bud of cotton wool to the area._

_Hally asked again, louder this time as if it was possible Dr Pearce hadn't heard her the first time._

" _What is it?"_

_The Dr looked towards the door for a moment, considering something. Before she turned away from Hally to label the vial of blood, adding quietly. "It's to keep you stable."_

_Hally had no idea what that was supposed to mean. However, even as her confusion and anxiety over the matter grew. Hally felt it slowly fade away into nothing. Dr Pearce seemed to notice the change in Hally's demeanour and visibly relaxed. She jotted down a few extra notes on her clipboard, Hally cocked her head to one side to see if she could read any of it._

_She couldn't._

_After around 30 minutes, Dr Pearce knocked quietly on the door signalling for the guard to return. She slipped her notes into a brown folder passing them over to him, as she did so she brought a Dictaphone out of her pocket, quickly noting for herself. "Patient X19, seen on 4_ _th_ _November 2007. Vital signs are all within range. However, I'm picking up multiple emotional and physical traumas. The body is doing a good job of compensating but the patient would benefit from an intensive, personalised counselling course. I would also advise some sort of physical release."_

_Hally stared at Dr Pearce. 'Emotional and physical traumas'? What?!_

_The guard took the folder, looking expectantly at Hally. She slipped off of the table moving over towards the door._

_Dr Pearce clicked the Dictaphone off, nodding in the direction of the folder she'd just handed to the guard._

" _It should all be in there, if you could pass it along to Dr Saxon for me?" The guard nodded and with a soft grunt, guided Hally out of the room and back to her cell._


	23. Part 2 - Chapter 22

It had been around two weeks since Rose had fully started travelling with them. After they'd left London they'd ended up in Utah, 2012 and that's when Adam had traipsed his way onto the TARDIS. Hally didn't get it. Rose needed to seriously upgrade her taste in men.

Running into the Dalek had shaken both her and the Doctor, she supposed he must have welcomed the distraction that the two humans caused. She had been angry with him for not taking the Dalek out when he'd had the chance and even more furious when he'd refused to explain to her what he'd meant back in the cage.

" _They're never going to come! Your race is dead! You all burnt, all of you. Ten million ships on fire. The entire Dalek race wiped out in one second."_

" _You lie!" The Dalek screamed._ _  
_ _"I watched it happen. I made it happen."_ _  
_ _"You destroyed us?"_ _  
_ _"I had no choice."_ _  
_ _"And what of the Time Lords?"_ _  
_ _"Dead. They burnt with you. The end of the last great Time War. Everyone lost."_ _  
_

Then, there had been what happened on Satellite 5. That was… disgusting. Hally had felt a small ounce of sympathy for Adam, but it had only been small. He was an idiot. They would seriously need to start screening any other 'travel companions'.

Then Rose had asked to go to 1987. She'd wanted to see her father. Hally knew it had been for purely selfish reasons but she'd also had a sneaking suspicion that Rose had also mentioned it because Hally and The Doctor hadn't spoken more than 5 words to one another since Utah. The human was annoyingly clever sometimes. Not that that visit hadn't gone terribly, definitely not to plan and had been full of heartbreak.

Hally and The Doctor had tried to give Rose some space for a few days afterwards. The Doctor had found Hally on the TARDIS doorstep, her legs hanging over the edge, doors wide open onto some galaxy. He silently sat beside her, observing his daughter for a quiet moment.

Hally was quiet, she felt The Doctor's presence before he'd taken a seat beside her. The view before her was beautiful. Everything was so silent.

The Doctor leant forward, resting his elbows on his legs. "You're right to be angry at me."

She let out a long sign. "I'm not… angry at you." She looked at him. "I just don't know who you are." Hally shrugged, sending him a sad smile before turning back to look out of the TARDIS.

The Doctor frowned. "What do you mean?"

Hally bit the inside of her lip, considering her words. "We don't know each other. Not really. You're my father but we've never spent much time together? We both do things that infuriate the other but it's because we just don't understand one another." She sent him a small sympathetic smile.

He laughed softly, looking impressed. "That was very rationally put."

She smirked. "I can be rational."

"You could have fooled me." He rebuked, sending her a smirk.

Hally huffed, shooting him a playful glare. "I could just push you, you know?" She motioned to the vast emptiness that was before them.

They fell into a comfortable silence, both engrossed in their own thoughts.

"I ended the Time War." The Doctor broke the peace once again.

Hally was quiet for a minute or so.

"I gathered…" She breathed out softly, not looking at him. Her heart ached painfully, the ring that was hidden around her neck feeling like it was burning a heavy hole in her chest.

"I had to. It was the only way I could end everything. Destroy the Daleks. But in the end, I had to destroy everything. Gallifrey as well." He had turned to look at her, she could hear the guilt in his voice.

Hally nodded, placing a hand gently over his. Never once looking away from the galaxy in front of them. "I know. I… understand."

After another silent moment, she took in a deep breath. "I know it seems like I'm angry at you. I'm not. Not really. It's just… it's a lot." She let out a bitter laugh. "I'm finding it hard… to process. Everything happened so quickly. And now there's nothing. I can't feel anyone but you…." She frowned, motioning to her temple.

He nodded in understanding. "I know. It's so quiet."

She smiled slightly, finally turning to look at him. "Maybe that's why I find you so annoying." She smirked. "Because you're always there… all I can feel."

They both let out a short laugh. "Maybe." He agreed quietly.

Hally nodded to herself suddenly, a determined look on her face.

"Ok, so from now on I think we should promise to make an effort to get to know one another." The Doctor had to stop himself from laughing at the serious expression on her face as she continued. "Stop hiding. Just… accept that we are different. Accept that we are father and daughter and it's better to be a team than to constantly fight one another."

The Doctor laughed fondly. "Alright. That doesn't sound too bad."

She nodded, smiling and turning back to look out of the TARDIS. That hadn't been too difficult to say. Although now Hally didn't know where to begin. She'd meant what she'd said. She did want them to get to know one another, but that meant no more secrets, being completely open with him and neither 'I have superpowers' or 'I married your best friend' seemed like a great place to start.

"You _are_ my daughter..." The Doctor's voice saved her from having to make the decision at that moment.

Hally pulled a face at his strange confession. "Ummm… yes?"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Just… listen for a minute." He held his hands out motioning for her to shut up. "You are _my_ daughter. But you were only a half-sibling to Irvin and Mejana…" He continued. His voice had dropped to a low murmur.

Hally frowned slightly, that wasn't all that surprising to her. Her ' _mother'_ had never taken much of an interest in her.

The Doctor continued slowly. "I don't know who your mother is." He looked up at her.

Hally raised an eyebrow, a coy look coming across her face, she opened her mouth to deliver a sly remark but The Doctor cut her off, anticipating her train of thought.

"Not like _that."_ He huffed, shaking his head. "I found you. Dropped on the doorstep of my TARDIS. Just a note, saying your name and that you were mine to look after." He frowned. "Not exactly custom."

For once Hally was quiet.

"So… yes, I kept my distance. I triple checked that you were actually mine… which… you are. But I didn't really know what to do with you. I figured you'd be better off living a normal life at the academy."

Hally watched him closely.

"However, you seem to attract trouble, even more than me sometimes." He smirked. "I've tried to figure out where you came from… the most likely explanation is that you're the daughter of a future version of myself."

"But why would you send me back? Have me grow up on Gallifrey?" Hally frowned.

He shrugged. "No idea. It certainly creates an interesting paradox." He smiled kindly at her. "Some things can't be changed. Fixed point remember."

Hally lent back on her hands, thinking. "Huh." It made some sense, provided some answers at least.

"Wait… if all the Time Lords are gone… and I haven't technically been born yet… am I only half Time Lord?" Hally's eyes suddenly widened turning to look at The Doctor in shock.

He smiled slightly. "Yep." He popped the 'p' knowingly.

"Oh my god…" Her face screwed up in disgust. "Then what else am I?!"

The Doctor laughed, jumping up onto his feet, he held out his hand. "I'll show you."

He took her over to the console, pulling a few wires out of random places and strapping them onto both of Hally's arms. A display screen popped up with a generalised schematic of Hally's body. The Doctor zoomed in.

"See… still two hearts. But…" He pressed a few buttons and a type of pie chart appeared next to the schematic, it was split into three chunks.

"50% Time Lord. 35% Human and… 15% unknown." He finished, looking at her, a mixture of nerves and excitement present in his eyes.

"What?!" Hally looked at him pointedly, her face scrunching up in disgust. "Human?! Are you serious?! Ew…." She baulked slightly. "Ew, ew, ew…."

"Stop being so prejudiced." He scolded through a smile, amused by her reaction.

Hally shivered in mock disgust. "Also, what the hell is 'unknown'? How is my genetic makeup unknown to the TARDIS?" She crossed her arms.

The Doctor shrugged nonchalantly which only ruffled Hally's feathers further. "Your TARDIS is useless." She huffed childishly.

"Oi!" He defended, pulling the wires off of Hally's arms. "Thought we were being nice now?"

Hally shrugged. "Oh, I _am_ being nice… Time Lord half is being really nice, the human portion is a little bit mad and well... the rest is ' _unknown'_!" She threw her arms up in the air dramatically to make her point.

The TARDIS console suddenly jumped to life, a loud alarm started to sound, purple flashing lights lighting up the console. The Doctor turned quickly, locking on to the signal as fast as he could. Rose stumbled into the console room.

"What's the emergency?" She asked coming over to the pair.

"It's mauve." The Doctor explained quickly.

"Mauve?" Rose sent Hally a quizzical look.

The Doctor chuckled, explaining to Rose that Mauve was the universally recognised colour for danger… not red. The Doctor motioned for Hally to take up one of the TARDIS gear sticks which she did reluctantly. The TARDIS lurched and they all had to grab hold of the console to stop them flying across the floor

"What exactly is this thing?" Rose cried out as Hally locked into gear, the TARDIS stabilising its link to the object.

"No idea." He grinned stupidly.

"Then why are we chasing it?" She continued, her voice more panicked.

"It's mauve and dangerous, and about thirty seconds from the centre of London." He added quickly.

As soon as the TARDIS had materialised the trio were straight out of the deep blue doors. The Doctor was muttering about being back on earth _again._ Hally laughed and lead the way along the back alley where they'd landed.

"If you've both quite finished?" She smirked, sending The Doctor a pointed look. "We can't be far away?"

The Doctor nodded. "Within a mile, anyway. And it can't have been more than a few weeks ago. Maybe a month."

"A month? We were right behind it…" Rose questioned, looking between the pair. Hally chuckled, shaking her head.

"It was jumping time tracks all over the place. We're bound to be a little bit out." He defended. "Do you want to drive?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. How much is a little?" Rose countered.

The Doctor made a face. "A bit."

"Is that exactly a bit?" She crossed her arms.

"Ish." The Doctor walked past, Hally rolled her eyes at him.

"Seriously, I thought we were on a Mauve Alert here?" Hally looked between the two of them. Eventually, they came to a door marked 'Deliveries Only'. The Doctor was planning on using his psychic paper on getting the answers he needed from the locals.

"Not very Spock, is it, just asking." Rose shrugged her shoulders, messing with The Doctor.

"Door, music, people. What do you think?" He took out his sonic screwdriver.

"I think you should do a scan for alien tech. Give me some Spock, for once. Would it kill you?" Rose batted her eyelashes. Hally cocked her head to one side, observing the exchange. The Doctor flicked on the screwdriver, unlocking the door and pulling it open. He turned back and gave a look to Rose's T-shirt, which was sporting a very large, bright Union Jack Flag.

"Are you sure about that T-shirt?" He quipped.

"Too early to say. I'm taking it out for a spin." Rose looked down at herself, grinning.

Hally suddenly frowned as The Doctor entered through the door. "Wait… are you flirting?!" She accused, following in after The Doctor quickly.

When Hally didn't feel Rose step inside behind them she turned back to the delivery door, looking over her shoulder she saw that The Doctor was already a few meters ahead, oblivious to the fact that he had lost his human.

"Typical…" Hally muttered, backing out of the building and back into the dark, dingy alleyway.

"Rose?!" She called out when she found the alley empty.

"Up here! There's this kid!" Hally looked up at the sound of Rose's voice, she was climbing up a set of metal fire escape stairs towards the roof of the building. Hally frowned, on the top of the roof stood a small child, around 7 or 8?

"Hold on!" Hally called, starting to climb the staircase after her. Something about the child felt very wrong.

"Mummy?" Hally heard the child call, she looked up ahead, Rose had made it to a flat portion of the roof and had started to climb further towards the child on a rope.

Hally huffed, mumbling to herself. "I said, hold on…"

"Okay, hang on. Don't move!" Rose called up to the child.

"Mummy. Balloon!" The child called.

Hally frowned as she made it to the flat part of the roof, looking up at Rose as she slowly started to drift away on the rope.

"Oh…" Hally's eyes widened as she followed the rope up to see the dark silhouette of a huge barrage balloon overhead.

"Help!" Rose shouted out as she drifted further away from the wall, the rope now dangling off the roof.

"Hold on!" Hally shouted as she sprinted along the flat roof. Rose was being pulled higher now, her small form moving further and further away. Hally jumped off the end of the roof, the child behind her forgotten as she ran as fast as she could along the rooves of London. The sky was suddenly alive with activity, sirens on the ground rang out loudly warning the inhabitants of an air raid.

Large tunnels of light combed the sky and the ground rumbled as explosions and fires sprang up all over the city. Overhead a squadron of German planes cut up the sky, bombs dropping from their bellies.

The breath caught in Hally's throat and she tripped, falling into the side of a chimney. The lights flashed before Hally's eyes, she grabbed at her own throat in panic.

"No… no, no!" She forced in a breath, eyes scanning the sky for Rose. She couldn't see her.

Her head began to swim and she felt her mind blackout in panic. She could see it again.

Gallifrey.

Dying.

Heat burnt at her throat. She dug her fingernails in hard to the cold damp tiles beneath her, the pain shocking her mind back into the present. She took a deep breath in, sitting herself down on the roof and propping her back up against the chimney she'd fallen against. Crossing her arms over her chest protectively.

She sat, probably for a good ten minutes, just forcing herself to breathe. The chaos continued on around her, all parts of the city being lit up with explosions. She looked up at the sky, bright lights flashing across her vision. The fingers on her right hand gently tapping a rhythm of four onto her left arm.

It was strangely beautiful.

Slowly, Hally felt her hearts fall back into a normal rhythm, the breath in her lungs stung less as she pushed herself to her feet. She needed to keep moving. Sitting on top of a roof in the middle of The Blitz was definitely not a good idea. Hally scanned the sky one last time to see if she could see any sign of Rose before she descended down to street level.

Hally wasn't sure where she was going, but the feeling of 'wrongness' seemed to be getting stronger and when she finally found herself standing on the edge of a large, cordoned off bomb crater, she figured that whatever they'd been following, was probably inside.

After scoping out the area, Hally was frustrated to find that it was actually very well guarded. No way in or out without being detected. That was when she felt the familiar mental nudge of her father.

" _Nice of you to catch up."_

Hally raised an eyebrow, scanning the area. She grinned when she saw him, practically running over to greet him.

"Hi!" She whispered excitedly. "I totally found this first…" She grinned.

The Doctor looked at her, unimpressed. "Where's Rose?"

Hally's smile fell. "Oh. Yeah, I lost the human."

The Doctor shook his head and nodded in the direction of what looked like a hospital. "We're going in there. Got to find _the Doctor._ " He started to skulk off and Hally had to run to catch up with him.

The Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to open the padlock on the ornate metal gates to the hospital grounds. Inside the long, dark wards, each bed was occupied with people wearing gas masks. None of them were moving.

"You'll find them everywhere." Said a gruff voice from behind them. "In every bed, in every ward. Hundreds of them."

Hally and The Doctor turned to see an elderly, grumpy looking man addressing them, he was leaning on a walking stick and certainly didn't look like he should be taking care of so many patients in such a terrible state himself.

"Yes, I saw. Why are they still wearing gas masks?" The Doctor asked, giving the man a quick once over.

"They're not." He answered gruffly. Hally frowned, looking at the patients… they definitely were. "Who are you?" The man asked.

"We're… umm. Are you the doctor?" The Doctor settled on.

"Doctor Constantine. And you are?"

"Nancy sent me." The Doctor tried. This seemed to help, although Doctor Constantine became even more prickly.

"Nancy? That means you must've been asking about the bomb." He narrowed his eyes at them both.

"Yes." The Doctor replied.

Constantine looked between them suspiciously, he coughed violently, sitting gingerly into the chair by the desk he was leaning on. As he spoke to The Doctor, Hally moved closer to one of the patients. It looked like it was a woman, but it was difficult to tell because of the gas mask. She went to lean closer to try and take it off.

"Don't touch the flesh." Doctor Constantine's voice echoed around the room. Hally stopped, looking up to see them both looking at her.

"Of this one…?" She asked, straightening up and moving away from the bed.

"Any one." Constantine muttered.

The Doctor moved away from Constantine and over to the nearest bed, scanning the sonic screwdriver over the patient.

"Conclusions?" Constantine asked from where he sat.

The Doctor read aloud the sonic's readings. "Massive head trauma, mostly to the left side. Partial collapse of the chest cavity, mostly to the right. There's some scarring on the back of the hand and the gas mask seems to be fused to the flesh, but I can't see any burns."

"Examine another one."

The Doctor did so, frowning. His confusion only grew the more he examined the patients.

"What is it?" Hally asked. She'd moved back into the centre of the room, as far away from the patients as possible.

"They've all got the same injuries." The Doctor answered, looking between Constantine and his daughter.

Doctor Constantine confirmed it. Hally looked back around the room, frowning. That just didn't make sense. Even if they were all hit by the bomb they'd all show completely different patterns of injury. The patients were identical, even down to the small scar on the back of their hand. Hally looked back at Constantine, who was explaining to The Doctor that there had only been one victim when the bomb had dropped.

"Dead?" The Doctor asked.

Constantine nodded. "At first. His injuries were truly dreadful. By the following morning, every doctor and nurse who had treated him, who had touched him, had those exact same injuries. By the morning after that, every patient in the same ward, the exact same injuries. Within a week, the entire hospital. Physical injuries as plague. Can you explain that?"

Hally looked back at The Doctor, it seemed he couldn't. Doctor Constantine suddenly whacked the waste bucket at his feet with his stick. Every patient in the room suddenly sat up in their beds making Hally jump.

"It's all right. They're harmless. They just sort of sit there. No heartbeat, no life signs of any kind. They just don't die." Constantine explained sadly.

The patients slowly lay back down again after a few moments, The Doctored turning back to Constantine to question him further but his condition was rapidly deteriorating as he hacked out another few painful coughs.

"…There are isolated cases. Isolated cases breaking out all over London." He coughed violently, waving them away violently. "Stay back, stay back…." He struggled to breathe. "Listen to me. Top floor. Room 802. That's where they took the first victim, the one from the crash site… And you must find Nancy again." He spluttered out before returning to a coughing fit.

"Nancy?" The Doctor asked. Hally could tell he was concerned for the man, and she herself had noticed the scar on the back of his hand that matched all the patients.

"It was her brother. She knows more than she's saying. She won't tell me, but she might…" His voice cut off as he began to cough again. The pair watched in horror as he seemingly coughed up the end of a gas mask, the mask exited his mouth, growing until his entire face had been covered.

"…Mummy. Are you my Mummy?" Doctor Constantine asked, cocking his head to one side.

"Hello?!" Voices were coming from the corridor outside the ward, getting closer. Hally shot a look back at Doctor Constantine, he wasn't moving anymore, just slumped into his chair. The Doctor turned on his heel and walked out into the corridor, Hally quickly following behind him.

She cracked a small smile of relief to see Rose walking towards them but their reunion was swiftly interrupted by the tall and she had to admit, very handsome man walking beside her. He grabbed The Doctor's hand, shaking it firmly.

"Good evening. Hope we're not interrupting. Jack Harkness." He flashed them both a winning smile. "I've been hearing all about you on the way over." The Doctor looked slightly confused.

"He knows." Rose jumped in quickly. "I had to tell him about us being Time Agents." The Doctor's face broke into a smile, nodding quickly.

"And it's a real pleasure to meet you, Mister Spock." Jack flashed Hally a large smile. "Miss Hally."

Hally's mouth dropped open to mutter some kind of retort but she found that the words just weren't coming. Jack confidently moved past the group, heading back inside the ward. The Doctor shot Hally a look that clearly told her to follow him, which she did with increasing intrigue.

Jack shot a look over his shoulder upon hearing someone follow. He grinned. "He send you in to make sure I'm not causing any trouble?"

"Something like that." She smiled slightly.

He let out a laugh, turning back from her and heading to one of the patients. He pulled back his sleeve, using his wrist device to examine the patients.

"This just isn't possible. How did this happen?" He asked as The Doctor and Rose followed them into the ward.

The Doctor ignored his question. "What kind of Chula ship landed here?"

Jack's face fell. "What?"

Rose piped up quickly, leaning against the desk. "He said it was a warship. He stole it, parked it somewhere out there, somewhere a bomb's going to fall on it unless we make him an offer."

The Doctor pressed Jack further, raising his voice as he got more frustrated.

"An ambulance! Look." Jack let out a huff of frustration, bringing up a hologram on his wrist device.

"That's what you chased through the Time Vortex. It's space junk. I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It's empty. I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle, love the retro look, by the way, nice panels. Threw you the bait…" He finished, turning away from them, running a hand through his hair.

"You said it was a warship…" Rose narrowed her eyes.

"You're a con man." Hally muttered, Jack turned back to look at her, he let out a laugh that didn't sound all too kind.

"That's what I am sweetheart. I'm a con man. I thought you were Time Agents. You're not, are you?" He muttered irritably, shooting Rose a dark look.

"Just a couple more freelancers." She countered back quickly. Hally smirked.

"Oh. Should have known." He grimaced, motioning to them patronisingly. "The way you guys are blending in with the local colour. I mean, Flag Girl was bad enough, but U-Boat Captain?"

Hally shook her head. "This is all totally irrelevant to what is _actually_ going on here." She shot Jack a look to hopefully shut him up.

"What is happening here, Doctor?" Rose asked after a moment.

"Human DNA is being rewritten by an idiot." The Doctor moved over to one of the patients again, scanning with the screwdriver to see if there was anything he'd missed.

"What do you mean?" Rose followed him, staying close to his side.

The Doctor ran a hand over his head, almost talking to himself. "I don't know. Some kind of virus converting human beings into these things. But why? What's the point?"

"Maybe there isn't a point?" Hally tried. "If it's some kind of virus it might be an accident? Whatever came in that ship? It could have been infectious right?" Jack opened his mouth to no doubt, protest when all the patients in the room sat up suddenly.

"Ummm…." Hally muttered, moving away from the nearest bed, back into the middle of the room.

Slowly they began to stand, each one asking over and over again for their mummy.

"Mummy…?"

"What's happening..?" Rose's voice was a little higher than usual as all four of them backed into the centre of the room, Jack's back hit Hally's and she swallowed nervously.

"I don't know." The Doctor muttered as the watched Doctor Constantine stand up alongside the patients.

"Mummy." Constantine's voice was muffled by the gas mask.

"Don't let them touch you!" The Doctor added, pulling Rose further back. The four of them backing away slowly.

"What happens if they touch us?"

"You're looking at it."

Hally couldn't help a small squeak that escaped her mouth as the patients closed in on them.

"Help me, Mummy."

"Mummy… Mummy."

"Mummy..? Mummy… Mummy… Mummy."

Hally looked around the room, letting out a groan. "Okay, this now feels like a personal attack…"

* * *

_IIII_

_What she assumes is 5_ _th_ _November 2007._

_Hally woke up in her tiny little grey room again. This time it'd been by the unwelcome shrill of the morning bell. She let out a soft groan, swinging her legs out of bed._

" _Breakfast in 5 minutes!" A guard called loudly, his voice travelling all the way down the corridor of cells._

_Hally splashed some water on her face, sniffing at herself. She made a face, quickly changing out of one ugly beige top, into another. After 5 minutes the door to her cell clicked and swung open, Hally slowly exited the cell. She could see other 'inmates' doing the same to her left and right, all dressed exactly the same. She followed the line out along the corridor and into a large canteen. There must have been around 50 other young girls there, none of them could have been older than 18?_

" _Hey, keep moving…" A hushed whispered from behind her brought her out of her thoughts, she was pushed gently forward by a small hand. Hally looked over her shoulder to see a girl who looked around 15 behind her. The girl sent her a small frown and Hally looked back in front. The line followed the outside of the room, eventually getting to a small service hatch through which breakfast was being served._

_Hally looked down at the grey mush in her small brown bowl as she set down her tray at a fairly empty table. She made a face and looked up, her eyes locked with the young girl who had been behind her in the queue, she was now sitting opposite, a few seats down. The girl stifled a small smile and without saying anything, started to eat._

_Hally puffed out her cheeks, sighing. She picked up her spoon and sniffed a small bit. It didn't smell of anything. She popped it in her mouth and silently choked. She dropped the spoon, grabbing a long drink of water. Looking around the room, Hally noticed just how many guards were present. There were at least 25 currently, all dotted around the edges of the room. She frowned, looking back at the young women all sat calmly eating breakfast._

_They hardly looked like they needed 25 guards to be on watch in a facility that was supposedly already secure enough to keep them all locked in. That reminded her, where the hell was she? What happened to make her end up there…?_

_Her head ached slightly as she tried to hold on to the thought, but eventually, it was sucked away. Like a fast-flowing river, her thoughts just slipped away before she could grasp onto them._

" _Eat." A deep voice from behind made her jump. Hally looked back to see tall, dark-haired man looming over her. His eyes were piercingly blue and his pale face was hard set and angular. Hally opened her mouth to say something back, when she noticed that his right hand was hovering over what looked like a Taser. She closed her mouth, looking back up to his face which held no emotion whatsoever._

_She turned back to her food, picking up her spoon and slowly bringing it to her mouth. She grit her teeth when she didn't hear him walk away. Feeling like a child as she forcefully finished the disgusting grey mush in front of her. Only when all of it was gone did she hear his heavy steps retreating._

_After breakfast, most of them we escorted back to their cells. Just before lunch one of the guards unlocked her cell and escorted her to a newer part of the complex. Light panelled wood doors lined the corridor. The guard took her to room marked '09 Counselling Suite' – 'Dr Saxon'. He opened the door for her and motioned for her to enter._

" _Dr Saxon will be with you shortly. Take a seat." With that, the door had clicked shut. Hally could see the shadowy outline of the guard standing outside the door._

_Letting out a soft sigh she sat herself down on the orange fabric sofa that was placed in the middle of the room. It looked a lot like an office, it was fairly large with a square window on the wall to the right. It looked out onto what she assumed was an exercise yard, an old rusty basketball hoop could be seen in the far corner. The walls were lined with bookcases and a large glass desk sat in front of her and behind that a comfy looking leather chair. Hally bit her lip, noticing the bowl of biscuits left invitingly on the desk. She leant forward slowly, reaching out a hand to grab one._

" _Making yourself at home?"_

_She froze for a second, before leaning back into the sofa, stolen biscuit in hand. Without looking over her shoulder she answered._

" _Well… I can't imagine you're going to eat all those yourself…?" She relaxed when she heard the short laugh from behind her and the soft footsteps as the man circled behind her to get to his desk. He sat down, a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes playing on his lips._

_Hally bit into the biscuit and inwardly winced at how loud the noise was. The man was watching her intently, both his dark brown eyes swimming with dark amusement. He leant back in his chair an unreadable expression on his face. Hally looked away nervously, missing the smile that spread across his face._

" _Let me introduce myself." He spoke after a short while. Hally looked back at him, his handsome round face was pulled into a charming smile._

" _I'm Dr Saxon."_


	24. Part 2 - Chapter 24

The ward patients were moving closer and closer, Hally tried to step back further, her foot hitting The Doctor's. He looked down at her and she saw an idea form in his mind.

He turned back to the patients. "Go to your room!" He bellowed.

Every patient stood still, like they were watching him.

"Go to your room." He continued. "I mean it. I'm very, very angry with you. I am very, very cross. Go to your room!" He shouted, putting on his very best, angry parent voice.

Hally could have laughed as all the patients hung their heads in shame and shuffled away, getting back into their beds miserably.

The Doctor turned to look at Rose. "I'm really glad that worked. Those would have been terrible last words."

"Well… that was terrifying. Please never tell me off." Hally laughed awkwardly, watching cautiously as the patients lay back down, motionless.

"Make sure you're a good girl then." The Doctor quipped, grinning.

Hally sent him an unimpressed look, Jack laughed loudly which got The Doctor's attention.

"How was your con supposed to work?" He turned on him, all of his previous humour gone.

"Simple enough, really. Find some harmless piece of space junk, let the nearest Time Agent track it back to Earth, convince him it's valuable, name a price. When he's put 50% upfront, oops! A German bomb falls on it, destroys it forever. He never gets to see what he's paid for, never knows he's been had. I buy him a drink with his own money, and we discuss dumb luck. The perfect self-cleaning con." He grinned, proudly

"Oh yeah, sounds great." Hally muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him.

Jack grinned winningly. "The London Blitz is great for self-cleaners. Pompeii's nice if you want to make a vacation of it though, but you've got to set your alarm for volcano day." He winked at her before looking back at The Doctor. "Getting… a hint of disapproval."

"Take a look around the room. This is what your harmless piece of space-junk did." He ground out.

"It was a burnt-out medical transporter. It was empty." Jack protested.

"Obviously not." Hally deadpanned.

The Doctor made to move out of the ward, announcing they were going upstairs.

"I even programmed the flight computer so it wouldn't land on anything living. I harmed no-one. I don't know what's happening here, but believe me, I had nothing to do with it." Jack continued, trying to reason with them all.

"I'll tell you what's happening." The Doctor turning, fixing him with a hard look. "You forgot to set your alarm clock. It's volcano day."

Another loud siren sounded from above. The Doctor rushed out of the ward, leaving the others to catch up with him upstairs. They found him stood by a large, secure metal door. Jack got out his blaster, using it to disintegrate the lock mechanism and they made their way inside.

The room was a mess, the contents of filing cabinets and electronic equipment lay strewn all over the place. On the far side, there was what looked like an observation window, the glass had been broken outwards.

"What do you think?" The Doctor said, taking a sweeping look around the room.

"Something got out of here," Jack said, examining the broken glass.

"Something powerful…" Hally muttered.

"Powerful and angry." The Doctor concluded for them.

Hally followed Jack's gaze, multiple child's crayon drawings were scattered on the floor among the mess.

"A child? I suppose this explains Mummy." Jack added.

Rose turned to The Doctor. "How could a child do this?"

The Doctor flicked on the tape machine, Doctor Constantine's voice spoke out, questioning a young boy.

"Always are you my mummy? Like he doesn't know…Why doesn't he know?" Rose questioned. "Doctor?"

He didn't answer her, instead, he started to pace up and down the room. Something Hally noticed he often did when trying to think his way out of an impossible situation. He mused out loud the possibility that one of the children looking for food during the air-raid could have been nearby when the ambulance landed. That the blast might have affected them somehow.

The child's voice echoed through the room from the tape, Hally winced. It was extremely unnerving.

"I'm here!"

The Doctor was still pacing. "It's afraid. Terribly afraid and powerful. It doesn't know it yet, but it will do. It's got the power of a god, and I just sent it to its room."

Hally swallowed nervously when she caught sight of the tape. It had run out. She felt a cold shiver of dread run down her spine. "Crap." She muttered, looking up at The Doctor who had a similar grave expression.

"Doctor." Rose interrupted.

"I'm here. Can't you see me?" The child's voice was so close.

"What's that noise?" Rose frowned, referring to the low screech that was coming from the tape player.

"End of the tape." The Doctor said gravely. "It ran out about thirty seconds ago."

"I'm here, now. Can't you see me?"

Hally whined softly, turning around to look at the room.

"Well done…" She muttered, the fear apparent in her voice. "You sent it to it's room." She sent The Doctor a look. "This. Is. It's. Room."

She turned to look through the broken window, the child was stood there, unnaturally still. It cocked it's head to one side.

"Are you my mummy? Mummy?"

"Sadly not…" Hally whimpered, trying to back away.

Jack's voice was muffled behind her. "Okay, on my signal make for the door." He pulled out his blaster, aiming it at the child. Only, what he was holding was actually a banana.

Hally took the distraction anyway and made for the back of the room. The Doctor pulled Jacks' blaster from his belt, firing it at the concrete wall and making a nice, square hole for them all to escape through.

"Give me that!" Jack cried once they were all out of the room. He quickly pointed the blaster back at the hole, the wall repairing itself as the child tried to follow them out.

"Digital rewind. Nice switch." Jack quipped, looking appreciatively at The Doctor.

A moment later the wall they'd just escaped through began to crack dangerously. The Doctor made to run down the corridor to safety but the ward patients were already making their way towards them from both ends of the corridor. They were trapped.

"Mummy."

"Mummy."

"It's keeping us here till it can get at us." The Doctor explained quickly. Not that it was helping.

Jack took out his blaster again. "Okay. This can function as a sonic blaster, a sonic cannon, and as a triple-enfolded sonic disrupter. Doc, what you got?" He turned to The Doctor who muttered back awkwardly.

Rose shot Hally a look, lowering her voice to a hushed whisper. "Maybe you could do something…?!" She wildly waved her hands around. Hally raised her eyebrow, shooting her a warning look. When Hally looked back, The Doctor was looking between the women, confused.

The wall in front of them smashed open and Hally barely registered Rose grabbing hold of Jack's blaster before they were falling through the floor into the darkened room below. Jack reacted quickly, closing the hole in the ceiling that Rose had just created.

"Could've used a warning." The Doctor grumbled, staggering to his feet.

Rose started fumbling for a light switch as the two men continued bickering about sonic devices.

"Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, oooh, this could be a little more sonic?" Jack muttered in disbelief.

"Never had a long night? Never had a lot of cabinets to put up?" The Doctor huffed back a little loudly.

Rose found the light switch, although Hally had preferred the ignorance of darkness because as soon as the lights came up, the four could see more patients sitting up in their beds. Asking after their mummies.

Jack rushed over to the door, going to blast his way out again. But nothing happened. "Damn it!" He cried out, turning back to them. "It's the special features. They really drain the battery." He added sheepishly.

Luckily, The Doctor was ready with his sonic screwdriver, opening the door to a nearby storage cupboard, bundling them all in.

"51st century and you still can't sort out the battery life?" Hally shot Jack a patronising look.

"I was going to send for another one, but somebody's got to blow up the factory." He looked at The Doctor meaningfully.

"Oh, I know. First day I met him, he blew my job up. That's practically how he communicates." Rose smirked, jumping in.

Hally shook her head. "If we're keeping score, he blew up my entire home… so I think I win." She grinned sarcastically.

The Doctor took a look around the room and examined what equipment they had. Swiftly coming to the conclusion that they had nothing that was going to help them.

"So, where'd you pick this one up, then?" He motioned to Jack, rounding on Rose.

"She was hanging from a barrage balloon, I had an invisible spaceship. I never stood a chance." He grinned

"It was _meant_ to be…" Hally rolled her eyes, muttering sarcastically.

The Doctor sighed loudly. "Okay. One, we've got to get out of here. Two, we can't get out of here. Have I missed anything?"

"Yeah." Rose piped up quietly. "Jack just disappeared."

Hally and The Doctor looked around, sure enough, …there was no sign of Jack.

Rose groaned, throwing her hands up. "Okay, so he's vanished into thin air. Why is it always the great looking ones who do that?" She looked at Hally.

Hally frowned playfully, motioning to herself in mock offence. "Excuse me…?"

Rose laughed. "I mean, men."

The Doctor scoffed. "Okay, thanks, that really helped."

Hally couldn't help the laugh that escaped her mouth. A look of hurt crossed The Doctor's face, Hally shook her head. "I'd say you're fairly symmetrical." She grinned. He pouted, unconvinced.

The small radio in the corner of the room crackled to life, Jacks voice coming through the small grating. "Doctor? Can you hear me? I'm back on my ship. Used the emergency teleport. Sorry I couldn't take you. It's security-keyed to my molecular structure. I'm working on it. Hang in there."

The Doctor picked up the radio, turning it over in his hands. "How're you speaking to us?"

"Om-Com." Jack explained. "I can call anything with a speaker grill."

The Doctor waved the radio in front of Hally's face. "Now there's a coincidence. The child can Om-Com, too. Anything with a speaker grill. Even the Tardis phone."

"What, you mean the child can phone us?"

"And I can hear you. Coming to find you. Coming to find you." The child's voice interrupted through the radio creepily. Hally and The Doctor practically jumped away from the speaker.

"Doctor, can you hear that?" Jack questioned nervously.

"Loud and clear." He said, grimly.

"I'll try to block out the signal. Least I can do." Hally could hear his grin through the radio. "Remember this one, Rose?"

The soft sound of music started to play through the radio, drowning out the voice of the child.

They'd been waiting for Jack to come back for around ten minutes. Rose had sat herself down in a wheelchair and The Doctor was at the barred window trying to set up a resonation pattern in the concrete to loosen the bars. Or so he'd said.

Hally was leaning against the edge of the desk, watching as The Doctor and Rose argued over whether Jack would be back.

"He saved my life." Rose exclaimed. "Bloke-wise, that's up there with flossing. I trust him because he's like you." The Doctor sent her an incredulous look. "Except with dating and dancing. What?" Rose asked. The Doctor snapped back at her, Hally laughed at them, amused.

"Nine hundred years old, me. I've been around a bit. I think you can assume at some point I've danced."

Hally almost fell off the edge of the desk at that, making a small disgusted noise.

Rose ignored her obvious discomfort. "Doesn't the universe implode or something if you dance?" She continued to probe, Hally narrowed her eyes at her.

"Well, I've got the moves but I wouldn't want to boast." He grinned. Hally covered her face with her hand.

"Please stop." She whined childishly. She was already having a terrible day without having to witness her father flirting.

Rose hopped out of the wheelchair, turning up the song on the radio. She continued to try and persuade The Doctor to dance. "Jack'll be back. He'll get us out. So come on. The world doesn't end because the Doctor dances." She grinned, holding out her hands.

The Doctor took them, turning her hands over in his and looking at her palms. A small frown appeared on his forehead.

"Barrage balloon?" He muttered.

"What?"

"You were hanging from a barrage balloon." The Doctor asked, noticing that Rose's hands didn't have a single mark on them.

"Yeah, I know. Captain Jack fixed me up." Rose grinned, pleased with herself.

The Doctor scoffed. "Oh, we're calling him Captain Jack now, are we?"

"Well, his name's Jack and he's a Captain." She quipped back, happily.

"He's not really a Captain, Rose." The Doctor grumbled.

"Do you know what I think? I think you're experiencing Captain envy. You'll find your feet at the end of your legs. You may care to move them."

The pair continued to quip back quickly between one another, neither noticing that they had been teleported onto Jack's ship. Hally sighed, rolling her eyes and making her way over to where Jack was at the front of the ship.

"Actually, I quit." Jack cut in "Nobody takes my frock. Most people notice when they've been teleported. You guys are so sweet. Sorry about the delay. I had to take the nav-com offline to override the teleport security." He smiled charmingly.

Hally raised an eyebrow, taking a look at the ship's cockpit. "Maybe you shouldn't make such a habit of stealing other people's ships then?" She smiled a sickly sweet smile. "A real Captain, would have his own ship." She sent Rose a pointed look. The Doctor grinned at that.

"Oh, darling." Jack purred in her ear. "I can handle any ship in the universe with perfect precision. That's why I'm Captain." He sent her a sly wink.

A blush crept across Hally's neck and she frowned. "I assume you're not talking about actual ships anymore…?"

Jack just smirked.

The Doctor pulled away from Rose, looking around finally. "This is a Chula ship?"

"Yeah, just like that medical transporter. Only this one is dangerous." He grinned flirtatiously at Rose.

The Doctor snapped his fingers, a golden haze instantly enveloping his hands.

Rose got closer. "They're what fixed my hands up Jack called them…"

"Nanobots? Nanogenes." The Doctor offered.

"Nanogenes, yeah." Rose confirmed.

The Doctor showed Hally and Rose as the tiny Nanogenes healed his hand, before commanding Jack to take them all to the crash site. Hally kept an eye on Jack as he manoeuvred the ship towards the bomb, overhearing snippets of his conversation with Rose.

"Woke up one day when I was still working for them, found they'd stolen two years of my memories. I'd like them back…Two years of my life. No idea what I did. Your friend over there doesn't trust me, and for all I know he's right not to." He looked behind him, catching Hally's eye.

"Okay, we're good to go. Crash site?" He added cheerfully, getting The Doctor's attention.

They exited the ship together, heading towards the bomb crater. They stopped just short of the entry point, Jack nodding up ahead.

"There it is. Hey, they've got Algy on duty. It must be important."

"We've got to get past him." The Doctor muttered, thinking.

Rose smiled, looking between the two men. "Are the words distract the guard heading in my general direction?"

Hally had to hide her smile as Rose was gently put down by Jack, and she watched as he made his way over to the two guards who were stood by the large metal gates.

After only a few moments the man Jack had been talking to started to retch violently, falling to his knees as his face began to morph. Hally ran forward, closely followed by Rose and the Doctor who was calling for the other men to stay back. Hally got to Jack first, pulling him away from the man by the arm.

The Doctor looked around him, sonic'ing the man. "The effect's become air-borne, accelerating."

The air-raid sirens started up again, the sound drowning out the far-away noises of explosions. Hally looked up at the sky, stiffening. Jack turned to look back at her, not realising that she'd still been holding onto his arm. She let go quickly, shuffling backwards slightly.

"All we need." Rose muttered, looking around worriedly. "Didn't you say a bomb was going to land here?" She looked at The Doctor.

The sky lit up with fire. It was all Hally could see. Her breath was coming out in shaky exhales. The words of The Doctor and Rose drowned out by the noise in her ears. A sharp tug on her arm brought her back to the present. Jack was looking at her with concern, Hally could see behind him The Doctor and Rose were making their way inside the makeshift HQ bunker.

"Hey, are you ok?" Jack asked, tugged on her arm again lightly.

Hally looked at him for a moment before pushing his hand off of her arm. "I'm fine." She shook her head quickly as The Doctor and Rose come back out of the bunker, followed by Nancy.

Swiftly they all lit up the area, pulling the tarpaulin off the Chula ambulance ship. Jack quickly got to work keying in the access codes. There was a bang and some sparks, a red alarm going off inside the ship.

"Didn't happen last time." Jack muttered, looking up at The Doctor awkwardly.

"It hadn't crashed last time." The Doctor countered. "There'll be emergency protocols." He tried to get a good look inside.

"Doctor!" Rose cried, the group followed her gaze to see all the hospital patients battering at the hospital doors, advancing on the gates to the crash site.

"Captain, secure those gates!" The Doctor ordered quickly, sending Rose and Nancy to secure the barbed wire fence with the sonic screwdriver.

Finally, Jack managed to prize the door off the ambulance, showing The Doctor. "It's empty. Look at it."

The Doctor scoffed. "What do you expect in a Chula medical transporter? Bandages? Cough drops? Rose?" He looked at the human who shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do." He motioned to his hands.

"Nanogenes!" Rose cried out, grinning.

The Doctor turned back to Jack. "It wasn't empty, Captain. There was enough Nanogenes in there to rebuild a species." He said, pointedly. Jack's face paled as he finally started to get it.

"Oh, God."

Hally's eyes widened. Looking between the trio. "So the ship crashes, all the Nanogenes flood out… except the first thing they find is Jamie… the boy, dead and wearing a gas mask?"

The Doctor nodding, smiling.

"And they brought him back to life? They can do that?" Rose questioned.

"What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a Nanogene." The Doctor laughed. "One problem, though. These Nanogenes, they're not like the ones on your ship. This lot have never seen a human being before. Don't know what a human being's supposed to look like. All they've got to go on is one little body, and there's not a lot left. But they carry right on. They do what they're programmed to do. They patch it up. Can't tell what's gas mask and what's skull, but they do their best. Then off they fly, off they go, work to be done. Because you see, now they think they know what people should look like, and it's time to fix all the rest. And they won't ever stop. They won't ever, ever stop. The entire human race is going to be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for its mother, and nothing in the world can stop it!"

Hally swallowed, Jack frowned guiltily.

"I didn't know." He muttered quietly. Hally sent him a small apologetic smile as The Doctor turned back to examine the ambulance. Hally could hear the ethereal cried of the patients getting closer and closer. The Doctor was trying to ignore them, pulling out wires and panels from the ship and explaining to the humans how the Nanogenes were advancing.

Hally took in a deep breath as a German plane flew loudly overhead. The familiar burning in her lungs was back and her vision was going in and out of focus. She shook her head, focusing instead on the wall of patients who were now surrounding them, ominously waiting outside the barbed wire fence.

"So how long until the bomb falls?" Rose asked nervously.

"Any second." Jack shot a quick glance at Hally, she frowned, sending him a glare back.

"He's just a little boy." Nancy was saying, close to tears.

"I know." The Doctor whispered.

"He's just a little boy who wants his mummy." Her voice broke.

"I know. There isn't a little boy born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save his mummy. And this little boy can." The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, he didn't know what to do. Nancy began to panic, getting herself more and more upset. Hally watched as the patients became more animated, calling out for their mummy.

The Doctor saw them too, and Hally saw as something clicked in his mind. "Nancy, what age are you? Twenty? Twenty-one? Older than you look, yes?" He asked gently.

Jack looked up at the sky. "Doctor, that bomb. We've got seconds." He warned.

"You can teleport us out." Rose demanded, her voice laced with panic and fear.

"Not you guys." Jack winced. "The nav-com's back online. Going to take too long to override the protocols."

The Doctor shot him a meaningful look. "So it's volcano day. Do what you've got to do."

Jack looked back at him, the pair seemingly having a silent conversation. Before Jack disappeared.

The Doctor turned back to Nancy, his expression softening once more. "How old were you five years ago? Fifteen? Sixteen? Old enough to give birth, anyway. He's not your brother, is he? A teenage single mother in 1941. So you hid. You lied. You even lied to him."

Hally looked up to see the gates to the crash site opening, Jamie walking towards them slowly. "Are you my mummy?"

"He's going to keep asking, Nancy. He's never going to stop…" The Doctor's voice was low, his hand resting gently on Nancy's arm. "Tell him. Nancy, the future of the human race is in your hands. Trust me and tell him."

Slowly and fearfully, Nancy stumbled over to her son. She knelt down on the sodden ground, tears in her eyes.

"I am your mummy. I will always be your mummy. I'm so sorry. I am so, so sorry." She broke into tears, pulling the small boy into a hug. As she did the golden haze of the Nanogenes surrounded them both. The Doctor was watching, Hally bit her lip.

"Come on, please. Come on, you clever little Nanogenes. Figure it out! The mother, she's the mother. It's got to be enough information. Figure it out." The Doctor begged. The Nanogenes swirled around the pair, eventually Jamie let go and Nancy fell to the ground. The Doctor ran over quickly, pulling the gasmask from Jamie's face successfully. He cried out in joy at seeing the young boys face.

"Ha-ha! Welcome back! Twenty years till pop music - you're going to love it."

Hally laughed in relief, covering her mouth with her hand as she watched Nancy slowly sit up off the ground.

"What happened?" She asked, looking at Jamie.

"The Nanogenes recognised the superior information, the parent DNA. They didn't change you because you changed them! Ha-ha! Mother knows best!" He grinned and Nancy pulled Jamie into another hug, burying her face against him.

"What about the bomb?" Hally suddenly remembered, looking back up at the sky in panic.

"Taken care of it." The Doctor added, obviously pleased with himself.

"How?" Rose asked.

"Psychology." He grinned knowingly.

Hally stared at the sky as the bomb hurtled towards them, only to be caught at the last minute in a light blue beam of light just before impact. Rose laughed happily, Jack was sitting smugly astride the bomb.

Hally shook her head, laughing.

"Doctor!" Jack called, grinning at his success.

"Good lad!" The Doctor grinned stupidly back.

Jack's smile dropped for a moment. "The bomb's already commenced detonation. I've put it in stasis but it won't last long…"

The Doctor called back up at him. "Change of plan. Don't need the bomb. Can you get rid of it, safely as you can?"

Jack nodded in silent understanding, before smiling down at Rose. "Rose?"

"Yeah?"

He smiled sadly. "Goodbye."

For a moment the sky was empty, before Jack reappeared, his usual grin on his face. "By the way, love the T-shirt." He added, having to have the last word before he disappeared again. Hally shook her head in amusement. The bomb was slowly lifted into the ship by the beam, quickly disappearing from the sky.

The Doctor summoned some of the Nanogenes to himself. "Software patch. Going to email the upgrade. You want moves, Rose? I'll give you moves." He grinned at her playfully, throwing the Nanogenes to the waiting patients, as the hit each of them fell to the ground. When they awoke and stood back up, the Nanogenes had done their work, all the patients were returning to normal.

The Doctor laughed, spreading his hands wide. "Everybody lives. Just this once, everybody lives!" Laughing again, he quickly went and helped Dr Constantine to his feet, grinning ecstatically.

"Right, you lot. Lots to do. Beat the Germans, save the world. Don't forget the welfare state! Setting this to self-destruct, soon as everybody's clear. History says there was an explosion here. Who am I to argue with history?" The Doctor grinned stupidly.

Hally scoffed and Rose voiced her exact thoughts. "Usually the first in line."

When they got back to the TARDIS, The Doctor was still beaming. Hally couldn't help but smile at his stupid face, it was infectious.

"And everybody lives, Rose! Everybody lives! I need more days like this." He twirled her around happily.

Rose smiled back at him before her face fell suddenly. "Doctor."

"Go on, ask me anything. I'm on fire." He replied, not catching onto her change in tone.

"What about Jack? Why'd he say goodbye?" She frowned looking up at him.

"Shit! Jack!" Hally exclaimed, jumping away from the metal bannister that she'd been leaning on. "The bomb!"

The Doctor nodded, quickly getting to work on the console. "Well today Rose, everybody lives!" He grinned as the TARDIS rematerialized at the end of Jack's ship. The Doctor dramatically flipped a switch on the console, the song from earlier playing out loudly.

Hally smiled, turning around and opening up the doors, the familiar interior of Jack's Chula ship on the other side. She smiled slyly as Jack turned in his seat to see her and The Doctor and Rose dancing behind her. His jaw dropped for a short second before he jumped from his seat.

"Well, hurry up then!" Rose called from behind her. Hally laughed.

Jack didn't need telling twice, he ran onto the TARDIS, stopping in awe of the interior. Hally smiled, turning back to Rose and The Doctor. She inwardly cringed upon seeing that Rose was trying to awkwardly lead The Doctor in a dance.

"I'm sure I used to know this stuff." The Doctor moaned. "Close the door, will you? Your ship's about to blow up. There's going to be a draught." He called over Rose's shoulder to Jack cheerily.

Jack swiftly shut the door as The Doctor pulled away from Rose to start up the engine.

"Welcome to the Tardis." The Doctor called from behind the console.

"Much bigger on the inside." Jack laughed, still looking in slight disbelief.

The Doctor shot him a warning look. "You'd better be."

Rose quickly tried to diffuse the tension, skipping over to Jack. "I think what the Doctor's trying to say is… you may cut in." She grinned, moving closer for a dance when suddenly the music changed to a more upbeat swing song.

"Rose! I've just remembered!" The Doctor called. Rose turned to look at him, he was already starting to move about on his feet.

"What?" She smiled back at his large grin.

"I can dance! I can dance!" He moved on over to her, dancing confidently and ridiculously to the music.

Hally shook her head laughing, dramatically covering her eyes with her hands. "Make it stop!"

Rose laughed, looking awkwardly back at Jack. "Actually, Doctor, I thought Jack might like this dance."

"I'm sure he would, Rose. I'm absolutely certain. But who with?" The Doctor wiggled his eyebrows ridiculously, grabbing Rose's hand and pulling her into a dance.

Hally laughed watching them, she felt Jack slip in beside her. She looked up at his handsome face, he was giving her his most charming smile. He raised an eyebrow suggestively, an invitation to dance.

Hally laughed, turning back to watch The Doctor and Rose.

"You wish, Harkness. You wish."

* * *

Later that evening, Hally decided that a nice swim might clear her head. She'd been fairly tense since they'd all gotten back to the TARDIS and despite the fact that 'everybody lived!' as The Doctor kept saying, Hally was beginning to feel a little shaky as all the adrenaline left her system. She chucked her towel on one of the benches to the side of the pool, heading towards the water.

She almost stopped when she realised that she wasn't alone. Narrowing her eyes as she caught sight of Jack lounging on one of the loungers to the right of the pool in his boxers, book in hand. She inwardly rolled her eyes, diving into the water anyway.

Hally started to swim a couple of laps lazily, she could see out of the corner of her eye that he hadn't turned a single page for the last 10 minutes. She reached the edge of the pool, holding onto the edge as she watched him.

"What are you doing?" She eventually asked, not hiding the accusation in her voice.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He smirked, motioning to his book. "I'm just kicking back and enjoying the view."

Hally narrowed her eyes at him, unamused.

He laughed playfully. "Prickly little thing aren't you?"

"No." She retorted quickly, pushing off the wall and carrying on with her laps. After a few moments she heard him get into the pool, but was taken by surprise when he gently grabbed her arm not a moment later. Hally swung around, automatically going to hit him in the chest.

Jack caught her wrist easily, a small smile playing on his lips. "Woah, woah. Easy there." He chuckled, releasing her arm but keeping a soft grip on her wrist.

Hally grit her teeth. "Sorry." She muttered sarcastically. "Habit."

He smirked slightly. "So I can see." The playfulness in his expression dropped a little. "What war was it?" He asked softly.

Hally looked away. "The worst one." She looked back at him, pulling her wrist free from his grip. "But I'd really rather not talk about it."

Jack took a small step in, Hally realised that he was now very close to her, his scent enveloping her warmly. "You might not want to. But eventually, you're going to have to."

She shook her head, letting out a soft laugh.

"You disappeared for a moment back there. Before the bomb hit. Eventually, blacking out like that could get you killed… or someone else killed because you were frozen." Hally frowned at that. She opened her mouth, but Jack continued. "It's not going to stop on its own." He muttered gently. She'd not seen the conman look so genuine before. "I should know. And trust me, no amount of booze, sex or drugs is going to make to go away." His signature smile was back.

She looked down, quickly realising that she was now just staring at his abs. Hally coughed awkwardly and looked off to the side, blushing. She crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

He laughed softly. "You know I'm right." He added playfully.

She rolled her eyes but a small inkling of a smile crept onto her face.

He was quiet for a few moments, Hally couldn't help but flick her eyes back over his chest. His voice broke her thoughts. "Now I need something from you…"

"Of course you do." She smirked, raising her eyebrow in a challenge to him.

"It's very important…" He grinned.

"Do you think I'm Rose's type?" His eyes laughed playfully.

Hally snorted, rolling her eyes as she splashed him. Jack chuckled, wiping the water from his face but Hally was already half-way out of the pool.

"You're everybody's type." She grabbed her towel, heading back to her room.

* * *

_IIIII_

" _I'm Dr Saxon."_

_His eyes flashed playfully._

_Hally frowned and stayed silent._

_He let out a short bark of laughter, his features cracking into a large genuine smile._

" _I suppose you have some questions?" He cocked his head to one side. His eyes never left her face. It was almost unnerving._

_She nodded slowly before replying. "Although, I was under the impression that that would be your job?" She tried, cautiously._

_His mouth twitched in amusement. He brought his hands together, resting his chin on top of his fingertips as he sat further back into his chair._

" _Well… why don't we do a trade, hmm?"_

_Hally raised an eyebrow._

" _A question for a question… an answer for an answer." His eyes glittered excitedly._

_Hally thought about it for a moment, quickly realising that she wasn't really in any position to barter._

" _Fine."_

_He grinned happily. His behaviour was strange. Something about him didn't quite fit into the scenario she'd found herself in. However, despite this, she couldn't help but feel safe in the small strange little office. Much more so than outside with the guards._

" _I'll go first." He grinned, eyes widening as he sat forwards, leaning his elbows on his desk. "How was your childhood?"_

_Hally frowned, that had seemingly come out of nowhere. "That's a rather broad question…"_

_He smiled in amusement but didn't say anything._

_Hally sighed and leant forward, grabbing another biscuit before settling back into the sofa. She brought her legs up off the floor and crossed them underneath her. She wasn't sure what it was that made her start talking, but she did. She explained for around fifteen minutes, in rather extensive, but non-specific, detail about her childhood. About her distant relationship with her parents, her struggle at 'school' and her inability to make friends._

_Dr Saxon smiled, listening intently. "Do you think this feeling of abandonment is what made you so incredibly angry with the world?" He asked, once she had finished._

_Hally looked at him, keeping her face schooled. "That's another question. It's my turn." She said calmly._

_He smiled, nodding. "So it is. Ask away." His eyes sparked with something that looked like irritation._

_Hally opened her mouth to speak but found that she couldn't think of anything to ask. She knew she had one hundred questions, but her mind was foggy. Nothing was coming out._

" _Take your time." Dr Saxon said, a teasing edge to his tone._

_Hally let out a frustrated breath, shaking her head slightly and blurted out the first thing she could. "How did I get here!?"_

_Saxon cocked his head to one side with interest. Now that she had said it out loud, the question hung in the air. A sharp ache at the front of her mind twanged painfully. She winced but didn't stop looking at Dr Saxon for an answer._

_After a few moments, he ground his teeth lightly. "You were brought here after an incident occurred involving your father. You were travelling with him, remember?"_

_Hally nodded slowly, lots of memories were blurred, in the wrong order. The last thing she could remember was travelling with The Doctor, Martha was there. Something about Jack… and someone else? The pain in her head grew and Hally brought her hand up to her head._

" _You are here for your own safety, but also for the safety of others." Saxon watched her closely._

_The pain in her head faded slowly and she looked back up at him. "What incident?"_

_A slow smile crept up his face. "My turn."_

_Hally bit the inside of her lip, rolling her eyes._

" _You said you had trouble making friends at school. That must have been difficult. Was there no one you could turn to? Confide in?" He took his own biscuit, snapping it in half, still not taking his eyes off her._

_Hally turned her head and looked out of the window, sighing softly. "I said there was Persca."_

" _And you confided in her?"_

" _Not really…"_

" _So you had no one to turn to?"_

_She ran her tongue along the top of her teeth, shifting in her seat._

" _No, I…"_

_It had started to rain outside, she watched the big, fat water droplets smack into the glass window._

" _I did. There was someone else."_

_Dr Saxon was quiet._

" _But he died."_

_He was quiet for a while, before…_

" _How?"_

" _There was a war…" Hally began. "Wait you've had like five questions now. It's my go!" Her eyes snapped back to his. He shrugged, motioning with his hand for her to go ahead._

" _What incident?" She repeated._

_He sighed loudly. "The mind is an interesting thing. Perhaps the reason you can't remember is because you are protecting yourself?"_

_Hally laughed in irritation, shaking her head. "What?!"_

" _You were hurt. Others were hurt. I think it's best that we revisit the topic when you're more stable." He said calmly, his face unreadable._

" _More stable?!" Hally tensed. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Her jaw clenched, her breath coming out in short, sharp bursts._

_Dr Saxon waited stoically for her to calm down._

_She rolled her eyes, slumping back into the sofa. "That…was not me demonstrating how 'unstable' I am." Her voice broke slightly as she regained her breath. "I'm just so confused." She ran her hands through her hair._

" _I know." His voice was soft and low. "And that is why I am here. So you can talk to me. Confide in me. I will always be here for you. Your Doctor."_

_Hally looked up into his dark, chocolate eyes. They were whirling with intensity. Hally licked her lips nervously. She didn't know why, but she believed him._


	25. Part 2 - Chapter 25

The blinding white light faded and Hally staggered, managing to catch herself on a cold white wall. She blinked a few times, straightening up slowly. Looking around her quickly she saw that she had appeared in the doorway of an open plan sitting room. White walls, low ceilings and fancy furniture. It was very warm and the sounds coming from outside indicated that she was near a beach. She came to the conclusion that it could be a 21st-century European villa.

A loud shriek to her right from the L-shaped leather sofa got her attention. Three women were sat, swivelling in their seats to stare at her with a mixture of anger and surprise. Hally's eyebrows lifted slightly. All three were dressed in expensive-looking outfits that left very little to the imagination. There was a brunette, a blonde and a redhead. None of them looked particularly friendly. Hally stumbled forwards slightly, going to look out of the window to try and get her bearings. Looking out she could see a perfect sandy beach not 100 metres away. Bright green palm trees lining the coast which opened up onto the bluest of ocean waters.

She frowned, trying to think back to the last thing she could remember. They'd been on the TARDIS, herself, Rose, Jack and The Doctor had all been standing in the console room chatting idly. Then, there had been a blinding flash of white light…

They'd only just come back from Japan not 10 minutes before, after dropping off Margaret the… egg back to Raxacoricofallapatorious. Hally had been left alone with Jack as both The Doctor and Rose had gone on their separate 'dates' in Cardiff.

_Jack was laughing again, he'd taken off his WWII coat so he could get underneath the console of the TARDIS, taking a good look._

" _You know you're awfully prickly for one so young. Need to relieve any of that stress?" He sent her a smirk, sitting up and pulling himself to his feet with ease._

_Hally was leaning back against the metal railing encircling the console room, she rolled her eyes, scoffing. "I'll have you know, I'm far too old for you Harkness."_

_He grinned, crossing his arms in front of his chest, his eyes were twinkling playfully and she could tell that he was greatly enjoying messing with her._

" _Always 'Harkness' with you. Why not Captain?"_

_Hally licked her bottom lip, pushing herself off the railing as she came to stand up by the console. "I'm not great with authority figures." She countered simply, a small smile playing at her lips._

" _I bet you're not." His quipped back quickly, lacing his voice with a low purr._

_Jack frowned when Hally suddenly went quiet, dropping her eyes to avoid his gaze._

" _What's wrong?" He tried to add playfully. "Not married are you?"_

_The instant look of panic that she shot him made Jack falter, his eyes widened. "Oh… you are?"_

" _No!" Hally spat out instantly, crossing her arms over her chest._

" _That was quick..." Jack muttered, he couldn't help the small smile that he flashed her way._

_She obviously didn't appreciate it, shaking her head quickly she rubbed a hand on the back of her neck nervously. "No… I mean…" She was quickly becoming flustered. Hally let out a sigh of resignation. "You can NOT tell The Doctor." She started, sending Jack a very serious, hard glare. "Or I will push you out of those doors mid-flight." She pointed to the TARDIS doors behind him._

_Jack chuckled appreciatively. He put on a serious face, his eyes glinting. "Understood."_

_Hally clenched her jaw and spoke after a few moments. "I was married."_

" _Was?" Jack picked up on it instantly, not in a flirtatious way, but out of curiosity._

" _He… died."_

" _The war?" Jack pushed gently._

" _Yeah."_

_He let out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry…" He said, his face sincere._

_Hally shook her head, sending him a small smile. "It's fine. It's just. Not been very long." Her smile grew. "So while I'm enjoying your endless flirting…"_

_Jack laughed softly, nodding in understanding. "Received and understood, ma'am." He sent her a mock salute and she laughed._

Then the rift had exploded and the others had rushed back to the TARDIS.

Where were the others?

Hally's brow furrowed, something wasn't right. The more she stared, the more the scene before her didn't quite add up. The leaves on the trees were moving in the wind and the waves were washing up on the shore. She could hear noises too, the sounds of seagulls and people playing on the beach. But the beach was empty and she couldn't feel the breeze that was supposedly ruffling the leaves. Hally slowly leant forward, easing her body out of the window. She held out her hand, reaching out. She made contact with a smooth, solid surface. It was just a screen, a projection.

She turned away from the window. The three women were still staring at her expectantly, the redhead scowled nastily.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked, looking Hally up and down like she had just insulted them all deeply.

Hally ignored her question, asking her own instead. "Why are all the windows like that…?" Hally said slowly, motioning to the screen behind her.

The trio of women looked back towards one another before they burst into cruel laughter. Hally was taken aback, but the moment was short-lived because the redhead leant closer to the other two as she shot Hally a dirty glare.

"She can't be another contestant can she? There's only three of us left."

"That's SO unfair." The blonde whined, looking around the ceiling of the room.

"I can't believe this. Do they have NO regard for the rules?!" The brunette whispered loudly to them both. Hally just stared at them, having no clue what was happening.

The blonde looked down at Hally, her face slowly mirroring her look of utter confusion.

"Surely you've watched the show?" She asked, looking at Hally incredulously.

Hally looked around, hoping that there would be something that would help her figure out what was happening. "Huh? Show?"

The brunette laughed in disbelief. She stood up off the sofa finally and walked around to stand in front of Hally, looking her up and down, sneering. "You've been transported into the villa. Your data must show that you're single?" She said as if Hally was asking the most ridiculous questions.

Hally raised an eyebrow. "Transported… onto a show? Wait, what villa?"

"Oh my god, she has no idea." The blonde gasped, eyes going wide as she looked between the other two women for their reactions.

"No…" Hally laughed awkwardly. "Nope." She looked between the three women. "Someone please tell me where I am..."

The blonde opened her mouth to hopefully start to explain when a loud robotic voice cut through the room overhead. "This is The HARRI-BOT speaking. Good morning ladies!"

Hally looked up at the ceiling, looking for where the voice was coming from. Her face scrunched up in confusion when she spotted the inconspicuous speakers embedded into the walls, her mouth dropping open when she then also saw the cameras. The other women quickly tottered back to the sofa, taking their seats excitedly. Hally remained where she was, hovering uncomfortably behind them as the voice continued.

"And in a shock twist, that hasn't been seen in 106 years of The Bachelor, welcome to our newest contestant, Hally!"

Hally looked around herself, this was ridiculous. The redhead looked over her shoulder and shot her a glare, muttering. "This is so unfair."

"Now with only four of you girls left, things are heating up in the villa. Quite literally!" The voice let out a painfully fake laugh. "Now, as Matthew, our handsome bachelor, is an avid sports fan, today's group date is going to involve a sizzling game of beach volleyball! With Matthew as the romantic referee of course."

The brunette squealed happily and the other girls grinned at one another.

"Your very special, tailored sportswear has been picked out for you and is placed in your usual closets. Matthew will be waiting for you in basement room 005 in 10 minutes!" The announcement cut out and the girls got up, pottering as fast as they could through the rooms to the closet room. Hally groaned but couldn't see anything to do other than follow them. They eventually came to a long rectangular room with four large wardrobes at the end. Hally frowned, her name was written at the top of the wardrobe on the far right. She walked up to it and opened it as the other girls were doing to their own.

"I'm not wearing this…" Hally pulled down the tiny 2-piece that had been hung up inside the closet. "It's awful." She shot a look at the camera that was tilted towards her on the edge of the wardrobe door.

The blonde girl to her left gave her a small smile. "Don't be a spoilsport. You have to wear it."

"Why?" Hally frowned, looking around the room for another door out of the room but finding only more white walls with fake windows. She looked down at the two items of clothing in her hands. They weren't really clothing… more like a tiny sports bra and shorts.

"So you can win." The blonde said, letting out a small nervous laugh.

"I don't want to win. I want to leave." Hally looked back at the small young woman. She wished everyone would stop acting like this was completely normal.

"Well, you have to win to leave." The blonde shrugged, sending her a sympathetic look.

The other three women were swiftly getting changed and there was something about the warning look that the brunette shot her that made Hally slowly start to change. Once they were all looking equally as undressed and ridiculous, a panel in the wall to the left opened up. Leading them out onto a beach volleyball court.

Hally looked around. Well, that's what it first appeared to be, but as she looked closer Hally saw that they weren't outside at all. Instead, they were inside a room, all the walls covered by perfect screens which were projecting the image of the beach, creating the illusion that they'd exited the villa and were stood outside on the beach. The floor was even covered in sand.

A moment later, another panel slid open and a tall, muscular blonde man stepped through, sending them all a winning smile. The trio of girls instantly became animated, giggling and laughing as they tactlessly fawned over him. Hally grimaced as she watched them. The blonde man, presumably 'Matthew' sent her a kind smile.

The voice of the HARRI-BOT crackled back into life from above them, explaining the simple rules of the earth game volleyball. The group of four women were put into pairs, Hally and the brunette against the redhead and the blonde. A loud claxon signalled the start of the game, Matthew 'acting' as referee.

Hally quickly realised that the aim of the game was apparently NOT to actually play volleyball properly, but was to actively try and get as much of Matthew's attention as possible. Her partner, the brunette, was sending him many coy looks which he seemed to be enjoying. About 10 minutes into playing the redhead screamed and very badly acted falling over and hurting her ankle. Hally scoffed, watching the scene with her arms crossed.

Matthew ran over, concern written all over his face as he lifted the girl up in his arms, rushing her inside, playing the true hero.

The brunette scoffed irritably and the blonde smiled nervously. "Wish I'd thought of that."

"Urgh." The brunette turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.

Hally looked back at the blonde questioningly. She shrugged, smiling sweetly. "Come on… we should shower before the rose ceremony." She laughed quietly, motioning to Hally's body which was covered in sand.

Hally nodded slowly, following her to the showers. "Ummm… rose ceremony?"

But the blonde didn't answer her, instead, heading into her own shower cubicle. Hally puffed out her cheeks and decided that either way she really needed to wash the sand off of herself. She headed into the small cubicle and was about the pull her sports bra off when she frowned, looking around suspiciously. Sure enough, hidden almost out of sight in the showerhead, was a tiny camera. Hally scoffed in disgust, turning the water on furiously.

She showered in her clothes irritably, coming out in the towel and finding herself back in the long wardrobe room. Towel drying her hair, Hally opened up her wardrobe again a soft groan escaping her throat. Hung up was a small, strappy, duck-egg blue mini dress. With her old clothes nowhere in sight, Hally let out an indignant noise and pulled the dress on. She was going to kill whoever put her in this hell.

Eventually, everyone was gathered back in the sitting room awaiting the so-called, rose ceremony. Hally huffed and lay back against the sofa, pulling at the hem of her dress which seemed intent on riding up.

After a few minutes, a panel from another room slid open and Matthew entered. He remained standing at the front of the room, sending small smiles at everyone. Hally cocked her head to one side, he was carrying 3 roses.

_Huh… rose ceremony?_

Hally looked across at the three other women sat on the sofa with her. Gone were the giggly, fake laughs and the overconfident smiles. All three of them looked terrified. The redhead was scratching at her fingernails nervously. Hally was about to ask them what they were so scared of when, with a loud hiss, the wall behind where Matthew stood lifted revealing a tall, rectangle-faced droid which wheeled itself into the room. Hally leant over to the left, peaking at the darkened hole where the droid had come through. It certainly looked like it could be a way out. Sadly the wall swiftly sank back down into place with a heavy hiss and the droid examined them all, a large smile painted onto its face.

"Welcome all, to the rose ceremony!" Its mechanical voice was so overly cheery that Hally didn't even try and hide her wince.

"The time has come, for Matthew to present three roses to the girls he would like to see through to the next round. Sadly, whoever does not receive a rose, will be leaving us." Hally shot a look to her right, noticing that the usually cheery blonde was shaking.

She frowned, turning back to Matthew. "I will gladly volunteer." She muttered to him sarcastically, surprised when he sent her an odd look of confusion.

The HARRI-BOT ignored her interruption, instead, it raised its arms and cried. "Let the ceremony begin!"

Matthew stepped forward slowly, looking between all of them. He coughed and nodded to himself as he took a few steps forward, he gave a rose to the blonde and to the redhead before he hovered in front of Hally and the other brunette. He swallowed and his voice broke slightly as he shot a look at the brunette.

"I'm sorry." He shoved the last rose into Hally's hands as he quickly stepped back behind the HARRI-BOT. Hally watched the exchange, becoming more and more disturbed when the brunette instantly broke down into tears.

The other two pulled her into a tight hug, the redhead gently brushing her hair softly as they consoled her.

Hally looked back to Matthew, who also looked to be close to tears himself.

The brunette was hiccupping beside her. "I hope you're happy." Hally's head snapped back, the distraught girl was glaring at her through her soaking wet lashes.

"No… not really." Hally muttered, she was totally at a loss. She didn't understand what was making the girl so upset. It was just a show, right?

The brunette let out a slow breath and closed her eyes as she murmured. "Mum… I love you so much."

There was a loud buzzing and a flashing bright light, the brunette screamed loudly and when the flashing finally stopped there was just a small pile of ashes where she had once been. The three remaining girls clutching their roses were unharmed.

Hally's mouth dropped and her eyes widened. "Whoa, whoa. What the hell was that?!" She cried, looking between the droid and the contestants. There was still a wringing in her ears as she was confronted with what had just happened.

Matthew frowned at her, his eyes widening in panic. "You didn't know?!"

"How?! Have you been living under a rock?" The redhead cried out, her cheeks still wet with her own tears.

Hally stood up, her legs feeling like jelly. "No… no! This is NOT normal…" She waved her hands above her head, running a hand through her hair. Her heartbeats were drumming loudly in her ears. The blonde pulled on her arm pleadingly.

"Sit down…" She whispered, looking at the silent droid in fear.

"What?" Hally looked back at the HARRI-BOT. "No. No, I'm not staying here. I. Am. Leaving!" She cried out, wrenching her arm out of the girls' grip.

The droid's mouth dropped open with a soft click, exposing the barrel of a blaster gun. The three contestants backed away, the women scrambling to hide behind the sofa.

Hally looked at the droid, a murderous scowl on her face. A short red blast shot from the HARRI-BOT's mouth straight for Hally's head. It never made contact, it hung suspended in the air centimetres from Hally's face. Hally was mad, she was furious. These humans, these stupid little humans were killing each other for _entertainment._ The droid shot again and again the blast froze in the air in front of Hally's head.

Hally grit her teeth hard, sweat beginning to drip down the side of her face. The concentration was causing a splintering pain in the back of her head. She curled her hands into fists and with an angry yell, she pushed both of her hands out towards the robot. Both of the blaster shots fired back at the droid at high speed, hitting it in the head with two satisfying bangs. Hally's rage intensified as the pain in her head grew. The droid exploded with the wave of energy that rolled off of Hally's body. It flew into the wall behind it which crumbled and blew outwards, leaving a large gaping hole for her to escape through.

Hally felt her hands smack down on the hard floor as she collapsed. Her head was still ringing but she hauled herself up, stepping over the remains of the droid and out into what she hoped was the real world.

Hally ran a hand through her hair as she stepped out into the large grey hanger. There was a double-door on the other side with the number 394 painted above it. A lift. Hally strode over to the lift, hitting the call button harshly. She was still breathing heavily when the lift pinged and the doors slid open to reveal… The Doctor… and Jack, both holding very big guns. And a small woman?

Hally's mouth dropped open, as did The Doctor and Jack's. They all stared at one another for a few silent moments before The Doctor blinked a few times.

"Well stop standing there, get in!" Hally closed her mouth quickly, nodding and squeezing into the lift.

She looked around, coughing awkwardly as she suddenly became very aware of the tiny dress that she was still wearing.

"Hi…" Whispered the small woman with the cute hair. "I'm Lynda by the way… Lynda with a Y." She smiled sweetly. Hally nodded slowly, shooting The Doctor a look as the lift continued its ascent up. The atmosphere was extremely tense.

She could feel eyes on the back of her and she turned to find Jack smirking down at her. She narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Nice dress." He muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

The Doctor let out a strangled noise.

"I do not want to talk about it." Hally huffed, trying to pull the hem of the dress down again.

"That was floor 394, that's The Bachelor that is!" Lynda added, smiling kindly as if she was doing everyone a favour. Hally shot her a murderous look that quickly shut her up with a squeak.

Jack let out a bark of laughter. "I've got to find that replay."

"Shut up." Hally ground out, the lift was speeding through the levels in the 400s.

"…I can't wait to see you kicking ass in that." He continued.

The Doctor let out a growl. "It barely covers-…"

"Yes! I know!" Hally shouted finally, shutting both of them up. The lift finally stopped at floor 500 and the doors opened. The Doctor and Jack rushed forward, brandishing their guns dangerous. Hally followed, calling. "Wait… where's Rose?"

They'd walked into what looked like a control station, Jack was herding multiple workers away from their desks with his two big guns. Hally finally recognised it as the Satellite 5 station where they'd previously dealt with their Jagrafess issue.

The Doctor charged forwards towards the humanoid who was strung up at the far end of the room. Wires dropped from the ceiling and wound their way into the young girl, holding her up. Her eyes focused forward, never moving, their eerie white hue glinting under the blue lights.

"Who's in charge of this place?!" He demanded, holding the gun up threateningly. Hally frowned, she'd not seen him like this before.

The controller continued to ramble off numbers as if she hadn't heard The Doctor.

"Who killed Rose Tyler?" He cried out furiously. Hally looked over to Jack who sent her a curt nod.

"Oh…" Hally took a small step back, wincing. The human had been good, kind. A small flicker of her previous anger reignited and she looked up at the controller with a new intensity in her eyes.

One of the workers called out to The Doctor, his hands up in the air. "She can't reply. Don't shoot!"

The Doctor huffed, throwing his gun to the young worker. "Oh, don't be so thick. Like I was ever going to shoot." He turned back to Hally and Jack. "We've got more guards on the way up. Secure the exits."

Hally nodded as Jack quipped back a 'Yes, sir.' Jack headed to the lift as Hally went to the nearest workstation, tapping into the controls for the doors to the room. Locking them down.

"But that stuff you were saying about something going on with the Game Station. I think you're right. I've kept a log. Unauthorised transmats, encrypted signals, it's been going on for years." The young, male worker continued, getting up his log on his workstation computer.

Hally looked back up at the controlled, a thought crossing her mind. She opened up the workstation connection panel, trying to get into the stream from the controller. She looked up when an alarm went off by the door Jack was trying to access.

One of the worker women, with a permanent scowl on her face, called over at him disapprovingly. "You're not allowed in there. Archive Six is out of bounds!"

Jack held up both of his hands, making a point out of showing off the guns. "Do I look like an out of bounds sort of guy?" He touched the entry pad and headed inside.

Suddenly all the screens flickered to black, the lights dimmed and the controller stopped talking. "That's just the solar flares. They interfere with the broadcast signal, so this place automatically powers down. Planet Earth gets a few repeats. It's all quite normal." The young man explained to The Doctor.

The scowly woman tried to get The Doctor's attention, motioning back to the controller.

"Doctor? Doctor? Where's the Doctor?" The controller asked, her voice was shaking with some invisible effort. Her eyes were still unmoving and unblinking, but her face had softened.

The Doctor ran forward quickly. "I'm here."

"Can't see. I'm blind. So blind. All my life, blind. All I can see is numbers, but I saw you." The controller continued. Hally frowned, flicking her eyes between the controller and the computer screen. There must have been some kind of base signal underneath all of the broadcasting signals, information being sent directly to the controller.

"Solar flares hiding me. They can't hear me. My masters, they always listen but they can't hear me now the sun, the sun is so bright."

"Who are your masters?" The Doctor asked, his voice was forceful. The Doctor wasn't playing games this time.

"They wired my head. The name's forbidden. They control my thoughts. My masters. My masters, I had to be careful. They monitor transmissions but they don't watch the programmes. I could hide you inside the games. Knew that you would find me."

Hally reached out and touched the computer screen, pushing some power inside. The screen flickered back to life. Hally found the signal, locking onto it and blowing it up on her screen. Now that it was active it could be traced. She quickly started to type, trying to use the interface to track the signal back to its source.

"They've been hiding. My masters hiding in the dark space, watching and shaping the Earth so, so, so many years. Always been there, guiding humanity, hundreds and hundreds of years." Hally looked up at that intrigued. That meant they would have been there when the Jagrafess had been installed, always there, controlling everything from behind the scenes.

"But speak of you, my masters, they fear the Doctor…" The woman was beginning to ramble, the signal started to drop.

"Tell me, who are they?!" The Doctor cried.

The room flickered with light as the power whirred back into life. All the other screens blinked back into action as the station came back online. The controller stiffened and started to reel off meaningless numbers again as the solar flare passed.

Jack bounded back out of Archive Six, he'd found the TARDIS. Hally stood up as Jack manoeuvred Lynda onto a specific spot. "…You'll want to watch this. It'll only take a second. Could you stand in that spot, quick as you can. Everybody watching? Okay. three, two, one." Jack pressed down on a button and a bright white beam came down and engulfed Lynda, like those in the games. When the beam disappeared, all that was left of Lynda was a small pile of dust. The Doctor was enraged.

"But you killed her!"

Hally gasped softly, looking between her father and Jack. However, Jack just grinned assuredly, activating the beam again. This time when the light faded, Lynda was back. Perfectly unharmed.

"What the hell was that?!" She exclaimed, patting down her body as if making sure that she was all there.

Jack grinned happily, practically bouncing over to The Doctor. "It's a transmat beam. Not a disintegrator, a secondary transmat system. People don't get killed in the games. They get transported across space. Doctor, Rose is still alive!" The Doctor laughed happily and Jack pulled him into a tight bear hug.

"She's out there somewhere…" The Doctor muttered as he pulled away from the captain. The controller let out a pained noise which caught everyone's attention."

"Doctor. Coordinates 5.6.1…" She began, her eyes blinking with pain.

Hally didn't hesitate, she quickly plugged the coordinates into the computer. Cross-referencing them with the controller's base signal.

The controller bit out the last few coordinates, despite the pain it was obviously causing her and The Doctor's panicked warnings.

".434. No, my masters, no! I defy you! Stigma 7 7-…" She screamed as the beam of white light descended, stealing the controller away before she could finish.

"They took her." The Doctor turned back to Hally and Jack. Hally could see the conflict behind his eyes as he tried to desperately think up a plan.

"I've almost got it…" Hally muttered, turning back to the computer screen as she tapped in the numbers the controller had managed to give her.

"I'm locking on to the signal, cross-referencing the coordinates she did give us with the transmission logs throughout satellite five…" She tapped away at the keyboard. The young man who had been trying to help The Doctor appeared over her shoulder.

"Umm, I kept a log of all the unscheduled transmissions. File 860… if it helps?"

Hally nodded quickly, pulling it up. A hand touched her shoulder, she looked to her left to find Jack sending the guy an overly friendly smile.

"Nice, Thanks. Captain Jack Harkness, by the way."

"I'm Davitch Pavale." The young man replied, a little flustered.

"Nice to meet you, Davitch Pavale…" Jack purred. Hally scoffed loudly.

"Please… I am _working_ here." She groaned, rolling her eyes.

The Doctor was pacing, thinking out loud with the humans. He was muttering away about a long game, someone controlling the human race from behind the scenes for generations.

"I've got it." Hally announced, pulling the coordinates of the source of the signal up on the large screen at the front.

"There's nothing there…" The woman piped up, frowning.

"That's what the signal does…" Hally started to explain but The Doctor clapped his hands together, excitedly explaining the rest. "Underneath the transmission, there's another signal! Hiding whatever's out there. Hiding it from sonar, radar, scanner. There's something sitting right on top of planet Earth, but it's completely invisible." His eyes were wide and he was pacing up and down, faster and faster.

"Cancelling the signal… now." Hally punched in a few numbers, the signal ceased and instantly a gigantic circular spaceship blinked into existence on the holographic viewing screen at the very front of the room.

Hally felt a heavy pit in her stomach fill with cold dread. All the warmth seemed to drain from her body as she took a few steps towards the screen, watching in horror as more and more Dalek ships flickered up onto the screen.

"That's impossible." Jack's voice appeared behind her. "I know those ships. They were destroyed."

"Obviously they survived." The Doctor spat through gritted teeth.

Anger and hatred blossomed inside Hally's chest as the screen became overrun with ships. More than she'd ever seen, hovering above the earth. There must have been hundreds of thousands of Daleks on those ships, and only herself and The Doctor to stop them. She was shaking, she wasn't sure if it was out of anger or fear. Because she was scared. She was terrified. There was no way they could destroy this many Daleks, not even with all the forces of planet earth on their side.

The Doctor vocalised her fears for the sake of the humans. "Two hundred ships. More than two thousand on board each one. That's just about half a million of them…"

"Half a million what?" Pavale asked, looking between Jack and the Doctor.

"Daleks."

Fury suddenly burned hotly inside her chest.

No.

She wasn't going to let them win again.

Those glorified tin cans had taken _everything_ from her. Not this time.

Hally felt someone's eyes on her and she turned to the side to see The Doctor was looking at her, a rage burning behind his eyes much like her own.

The two Time Lords looked at one another for a moment, silently coming to an agreement.

_No._

The screen flickered and the image changed to a singular Dalek which addressed them. "I will talk to the Doctor." Its monotone screech only poking at Hally's internal rage.

The Doctor's demeanour changed instantly, his mask went up and he paraded up to the screen. "Oh, will you? That's nice. Hello!" He exclaimed, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"The Dalek stratagem nears completion. The fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene." The Dalek commanded simply. Hally could have laughed at its idiocy.

The Doctor plastered on a stupid grin. "Oh, really? Why's that, then?"

The video panned wider in response to The Doctor's question, slowly revealing Rose. She was surrounded by Dalek's, their weapons trained on her in a silent threat. "We have your associate. You will obey or she will be exterminated."

"No."

Everyone in the room turned to look at The Doctor except Hally. She would have smirked in satisfaction if she wasn't too preoccupied sending death stares at the Daleks on screen.

"Explain yourself." One of the Daleks cried, wheeling back and forth in irritation.

"He said no." Hally's voice was cold and laced with a dark threat. The Doctor took a look at his daughter out of the corner of his eye.

"What is the meaning of this negative?" Another of the Dalek's chimed in, their blasters twitching around dangerously.

"It means no." The Doctor looked back, staring into the blue eye of the Dalek.

"…But she will be destroyed." The Dalek closest to Rose exclaimed, a hint of confusion in its voice.

"No! Because this is what I'm going to do." The Doctor marched forward, getting up close to the camera that was transmitting their image. "I'm going to rescue her. I'm going to save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet And then I'm going to save the Earth, and then, just to finish off, I'm going to wipe every last stinking Dalek out of the sky!" He yelled pointedly.

"But you have no weapons, no defences, no plan." The Dalek uttered, its headpiece turning to either side as if communicating with the other Daleks.

"Yeah." The Doctor let out a cruel laugh. "And doesn't that scare you to death… Rose?"

"Yes, Doctor?" Rose answered quickly, Hally could see the complete faith she had in The Doctor etched all over her face.

"I'm coming to get you."

He flicked the sonic screwdriver up towards the screen, cutting off the transmission with a grim look of determination on his face.

* * *

* * *

_IIIII I_

_7 November 2007_

_It'd been two days since her first session with Dr Saxon and she'd fallen into a dull routine at the compound. She'd be woken up at 07:00 am by the awful morning bell followed by breakfast until 08:00. After that, she'd either be escorted to the exercise yard, the activities room or to a session with Saxon._

_It was already 11:45 that morning and Hally was lying on her back staring at the whitewashed ceiling of Dr Saxon's office. She'd been talking for around 30 minutes now about the Time War. She'd left out the… alien details, giving Saxon a normalised story of her experiences instead. He'd told her that she might find it useful to close her eyes whilst recounting the story. Hally had felt awkward sitting up and closing her eyes, hence why she in her current position lying sideways on the squidgy orange sofa. She hadn't spoken for a few moments and Saxon hadn't interrupted so she'd opened her eyes, looking at the weird ugly circles that were etched into the painted ceiling._

_She twisted her head to look over at him, he was silently jotting something down in his notepad. Hally raised an eyebrow, for a counsellor he very rarely noted anything down. He looked up, locking eyes with her. For a split second, Hally was sure something dark glimmered behind his eyes as he flicked a look down her body._

_Before she had time to think about it, it was gone. Dr Saxon started to tap his pen gently on the edge of the desk. "So you were reunited with this man, your husband?"_

_Hally nodded slowly, her eyes drawn to the pen. She felt her body relax as she continued with her story, the tapping of the pen gently easing her mind._

_Tap, tap, tap, tap._

"… _we were back home, in the main city when it fell under attack. We were trying to get out, find a way out but before we could..." The words stopped on Hally's tongue. She frowned, trying to remember. "Something hit me over the back of the head…" She finished._

" _What was it?" Saxon asked dispassionately, Hally missed the suspicious look he was giving her._

" _I don't know." She thought back to the moment before she'd blacked out. "_ He _saw it though…" She started, remembering the look on Koschei's face. "He was looking right at it."_

" _And then?" He pressed._

" _And then… I woke up with my father." Her jaw clenched slightly, remembering the initial pain she'd felt when she'd realised that she'd lost him._

" _What was that like?"_

_Hally frowned at his question, turning back to look at him. She was getting a hint of hostility towards her and it unnerved her. "I… I guess I was angry. Confused. I didn't want to be there."_

_Saxon raised his eyebrows. "So what happened then?"_

_She let out a slow breath, closing her eyes again as she told him all about The Doctor, about Rose, the Daleks, the Cybermen, smiling fondly when she mentioned her father's ridiculous hairstyle when they'd travelled back to 1953. She briefly started to mention Martha when Dr Saxon interrupted her._

" _You forgave him then?"_

_Hally opened her eyes sitting up hastily, alarm written on her face. "Excuse me?"_

_Saxon watched her, his face void of any emotion. "For abandoning you. Before, remember?"_

_Hally frowned, biting her lip. "I suppose. It was different. He was different." She shifted uncomfortably under his unwavering gaze. His expression was hard, she couldn't decipher anything from it. Nerves were starting to worm their way into her stomach. Something felt wrong, very wrong. She let out a shaky breath, her eyes flitting around the room as the anxiety climbed its way from her stomach and up into her throat._

Why am I talking to him?

I shouldn't be… I shouldn't even be here.

Where. Am. I?!

_She was struggling to let the air into her lungs. Dr Saxon's brow twitched with a small frown. Her head was swimming and the sharp pain was back, driving into her mind with an uncomfortable feeling of tension. Nothing was making sense. She couldn't breathe._

_She grabbed at her throat instinctively, trying to force air inside. Her hand felt the golden bar that was around her neck. It shouldn't be there._

" _What is this?" She managed to splutter out, starting to pull at it aggressively. "Get it off me!" She shouted, tears pricking her eyes. Dr Saxon got out of his seat, swiftly moving around his desk to kneel in front of her. His face was still unreadable but a flicker of uncertainty passed over his features._

_Hally doubled over as a shockwave of pain battered through her mind. "Where the hell am I?!" She screamed, pressing her hands in on her head._

_She felt Dr Saxon's cool hands rest over the top of her own, his voice was loud and commanding. "Calm down."_

_He rubbed his thumbs slowly over her hands. "Breathe." His said from above her._

_Tears fell from her eyes onto the carpet below. She swallowed, letting in a weak breath._

" _Let it go. The pain will stop when you just let go." He whispered softly. His right hand had started to tap lightly on the top of her left hand as she continued to cradle her head._

_Hally let out a soft whine of protest. She wanted to fight it. She wanted to remember. She was so confused. Nothing was making sense but it hurt. It hurt so much and the tapping was nice. It was calming. She focused in on it, the thoughts and turmoil slipping away from the forefront of her mind as she let the soft rhythm guide her back into the room._

_The pain ebbed away and slowly she uncurled herself from the position on the sofa. Dr Saxon's hands dropped away and he observed her as she calmed down. Hally blinked a few times, all the worry and confusion was gone. She was ok._

" _Good girl." Saxon muttered, sending her a small appreciative smile. "I think that's all for today."_


	26. Part 2 - Chapter 26

**Sorry for the long wait! As we’re now in Lockdown 2.0, hopefully we can get a few more updates!**

**I hope you enjoy! We finally have some Tennant in the story!**

**Also, if anyone’s interested… I envisage ‘Hally’s’ guard to look like Richard Armitage, only very mean.**

* * *

The Doctor turned around, manic energy radiating off him as he stalked towards the TARDIS. “Jack, with me.” He shot the Captain a look which he obviously wasn’t going to argue with.

Jack nodded quickly and hopped into action, heading through the TARDIS doors. Hally took a step towards them but The Doctor swirled around, holding his hand up.

“Not you.” He scanned the room quickly.

“Turn everything up. All transmitters full power, wide open!” He called to the remaining humans in the room. They didn’t move.

“Now! Do it!” A few of them jumped but it worked, they quickly moved to their computers and began typing furiously. The Doctor looked back at his daughter.

“Stop the Daleks from transmatting on board. Get them to contact earth, warn them.” Hally nodded slowly as the Doctor backed himself into the TARDIS.

“See if we can get any firepower or defences. Evacuate everyone…”

She nodded again. The Doctor paused for a moment, looking into her eyes. He could see burning anger flickering behind the soft hazel. He opened his mouth to say something else, before thinking better of it, shutting the TARDIS doors behind him.

As soon as the TARDIS began to dematerialise, Hally ran to the computer she’d been sat at, quickly flicking through the system schematics to see what she had at her disposal.

“Pavale?!” She called out. A moment later she felt the nervous man lean over the desk to her left.

“Ummm, yes?”

She looked up at him, her face was hard but not uncaring. “Transmitters are all on full power, yes?”

He nodded quickly, flicking a look to his work colleagues.

“Good. Did you contact earth?”

He coughed awkwardly, Hally raised an eyebrow expectantly. They didn’t have time for pleasantries.

“Pavale!”

He spluttered a little, nodding again. “We did… but they just suspended our license…” He added weakly, worried she’d shout at him again.

Hally let out an overly dramatic sigh. “Humans.”

She paused for a moment, flexing her jaw. The large screen at the front of the room flickered into life once more, The Doctor was streaming his position live from inside the Dalek ship. She looked up momentarily to see The Doctor step out of the TARDIS with both Jack and Rose.

“Exterminate!”

“Exterminate! Exterminate!” A dozen Dalek’s surrounded them, blasting directly at The Doctor. Hally smirked slightly as the blasts ricocheted off an expanded TARDIS force field.

She turned back to the computer as The Doctor addressed the Daleks.

“Right…” She muttered more to herself than to Pavale, trying to think of a way to protect the earth from the millions of Daleks hovering above them.

“The satellite… it must have a defence system, yes? To protect from space debris?” She turned to look at Pavale again who was watching the feed of The Doctor.

“Oh, umm yes.” Pavale moved so he was right beside her, with a few taps on the keyboard he brought up the satellite defence system.

“Hmm…” Hally made a face. “It’ll do.”

Pavale looked slightly offended.

“…Any weapons at all?” She continued, raising an eyebrow at him.

He made a small whimpering noise. “No…”

She narrowed her eyes, turning back to the computer silently. A moment later she cried out in frustration and hit the desk underneath her hands hard. The sound echoed through the room as all the humans turned to look at her. Pavale smiled nervously at them.

She looked over at him, sucking on her teeth irritably. After a moment her expression softened. “Sorry… you’ve done great.” She smiled at him in what she hoped was an encouraging manner. “Help the others with the evacuation…”

Pavale nodded quickly before scurrying back over to the others. Hally let out a long breath, running her hands through her hair. She made quick work of putting the defence force field on full power, extending its range so it would at least cover the earth.

Her heartbeats were beating loudly in her ears, her stomach felt like lead. Even if they could evacuate everyone and the satellite’s defences were strong enough to hold off the Dalek attacks, they were still sitting ducks without any sort of weapon system. Hally looked back up at the screen, The Doctor was taunting the Dalek Emperor, probably stalling so they’d have time to evacuate as many of the levels as possible.

“They're insane…” She heard his voice crackle over the speakers. “Hiding in silence for hundreds of years, that's enough to drive anyone mad. But it's worse than that. Driven mad by your own flesh. The stink of humanity. You hate your own existence. And that makes them more deadly than ever…” He shot a dark look straight down the camera.

“We're going.” The Doctor turned, pushing Rose and Jack back towards the TARDIS.

The Emperor’s deep voice made Hally’s hair stand on end. “You may not leave my presence.”

The Dalek’s surrounding the trio waved their blasters threateningly as their lights flashed angrily demanding The Doctor’s presence, but the TARDIS was already beginning to dematerialise. The link cut off as the TARDIS disappeared from the screen. Hally felt a soft breeze run across her back as the TARDIS landed right back in its original space.

The Doctor bounded out, Rose and Jack in tow. “How did you get on? Did you contact Earth?”

Pavale piped up from the other side of the room. “Well, we tried to warn them, but all they did was suspend our license because we stopped the programmes.”

“…And the planet's just sitting there, defenceless.” The Doctor groaned.

Hally stood up, getting his attention. “Not quite, I managed to extend the force field from the satellite. So they can’t blow us or the earth out of the sky just yet.” She sent him a small smile which he returned with a big, stupid grin.

“Brilliant! You definitely get your genius from me!” He waggled his eyebrows happily.

Hally scoffed, crossing her arms. “Nope. I’m actually terrible at this stuff.” She chuckled when his exaggerated grin fell from his face. “I just had a very persistent tutor.” She shrugged.

The Doctor opened his mouth, no doubt to insist that she got her intelligence from him, when he noticed that Lynda was still hovering in the room.

“Lynda, what're you still doing onboard? I told you to evacuate everyone.” The Doctor moved past Hally to the human, who shot him a small smile.

“She wouldn't go.” Pavale crossed his arms.

“Didn't want to leave you.” She shrugged as if it was obvious.

Hally frowned, this girl had known The Doctor for all of 20 minutes? Were all humans so terrible at self-preservation?

The snooty woman that had spoken earlier piped up. “There weren't enough shuttles anyway, or I wouldn't be here.” Hally let out a snort, that was more like it. “We've got about a hundred people stranded on Floor Zero.”

The Doctor was looking at Lynda, his face scrunched up into a frown. Jack moved his way over to the front, flicking a switch which brought up the live images of the Dalek fleet again. This seemed to remind The Doctor that they had things to do, as he suddenly jolted away from Lynda and began to manically pull wires out of the surrounding computers.

Hally moved slowly over to him, watching silently as he began to reattach the wires. Everyone else in the room was quiet too until Pavale noticed the Dalek ships beginning to move on the screen.

“Oh, my God. The fleet is moving. They're on their way.” He muttered quietly, but the whole room heard him. Hally swallowed loudly, panic beginning to bubble up into her stomach.

“Dalek plan. Big mistake, because what have they left me with?” The Doctor’s voice cut across the nervous silence. He was rearranging wires, left, right and centre. “Anyone? Anyone?” He looked between the humans and his companions. “Oh, come on, it's obvious. A great big transmitter. This station. If I can change the signal, fold it back, sequence it, anyone?” He rambled on quickly, looking at them all like they were all children. He shot Hally an expectant look, which she ignored, sending him a small glare by way of telling him to get on with the explaining.

“You've got to be kidding…” Jack stepped up beside her, staring at The Doctor like he was insane.

The Doctor grinned. “Give the man a medal!”

“A Delta Wave?” Jack asked slowly.

“A Delta Wave!” The Doctor confirmed, he looked ecstatic.

“What's a Delta Wave?” Rose asked from behind them. Hally looked up to Jack to see that he was also staring at her, an incredulous look on his face. It was as if he was wordlessly asking her if her father was serious. She shrugged, turning back to The Doctor who had gone back to pulling wires unceremoniously out of the floor.

“A wave of Van Cassadyne energy.” Jack turned back and began to explain the plan for Rose. “It fries your brain. Stand in the way of a Delta Wave and your head gets barbequed.”

“And this place can transmit a massive wave. Wipe out the Daleks!” The Doctor called.

“Well, get started and do it then!” Lynda called from the other side of the room. Hally crossed her arms over her chest, seeing multiple holes in The Doctor’s plan.

The Doctor winced. “Trouble is, wave this size, building this big, brain as clever as mine, powering it up should take about, oh, three days…?” He looked over to Pavale. “How long till the fleet arrive?”

“Twenty-two minutes.” He confirmed, swallowing loudly.

The room fell into another silence as everyone went into internal panic mode. Hally looked around the room, no bright ideas from the humans then.

She let out a loud sigh which drew everyone’s attention. “I…” She let her arms drop to her sides as she cocked her head to one side. “I might have something to help with that.”

“Oh…” She heard Rose mutter from behind her. Hally rolled her eyes, striding towards The Doctor who was looking at her with uncertainty etched all over his face.

“A _little_ bit of confidence wouldn’t go amiss.” She scoffed, pulling the wire from his hand. She looked up to see that all of the humans were still staring at her. “Don’t you all have anything better to be doing? Preparing for war and such?!” She snapped.

She could feel The Doctor’s eyes on her face, one of his eyebrows raised slowly as the humans started to make themselves look busy. All except Jack and Rose, the former was looking at her with undying curiosity while the later looked on in understanding.

Hally rolled her eyes, turning back to The Doctor. “I can power it.” She told him, not offering any further explanation. “Configure the wires to draw power from me.”

The Doctor blinked a few times, his eyes narrowing as he tried to compute what she was saying. “Wha-?”

“Look, you can either ask stupid questions with very complicated answers or you can kill all the Daleks.” She cut him off. “Which will it be?” She raised an eyebrow.

The Doctor surveyed her for a moment, she could see a hundred questions that he wanted to ask her burning behind his eyes. Then, he nodded and silently set to work.

When everything else was ready, The Doctor began to gently connect the wires to his daughter. He could connect most of them via conductive patches but a few needed him to secure the conduction underneath the skin. If she was in any pain she wasn’t showing it. The Doctor found himself staring at the face of his daughter for a moment.

She didn’t notice, she was too busy trying to listen in to what Jack was telling the remaining humans. “They'll have worked it out at the same time. So, they want to stop the Doctor. That means they've got to get to this level, five hundred. Now, I can concentrate the extrapolator around the top six levels, 500 to 495. So they'll penetrate the station below that at level 494 and fight their way up.” He was explaining.

The Doctor coughed awkwardly from beside her which caught her attention. She slowly looked up at him, his expression was unreadable.

“This won’t kill you… will it?” He muttered quietly so that only she could hear him.

She let out a soft laugh, looking back at Jack. “I like that you’ve waited until after you’ve wired me in to ask.” A small smile played at her lips, but she shook her head all the same. “No. I’ll be fine.”

The Doctor seemed to deflate with relief, nodding slightly.

“Well… as fine as any of us are going to be when the Delta Wave hits.” She quipped, flicking her eyes back up to him. His expression was grim but he didn’t say anything further.

Meanwhile, Jack was trying to organise the six humans that were left with some kind of strategy. The Doctor must have heard them too because he quickly interrupted.

“Rose, you can help me. I need all these wires stripping bare.” He quickly removed her from Jack’s group and Hally watched as he started to get her to strip wires for seemingly no reason whatsoever.

“Right, now there's five of us.” The stern woman quipped.

“Then let's move it,” Jack ordered. “Into the lift. Isolate the lift controls.”

Pavale and his fellow colleagues quickly scrambled into action. Lynda made her way over to The Doctor, saying a quick goodbye.

Jack hung back, turning to The Doctor. “It's been fun…” He gave them a weak smile. “…but I guess this is goodbye.”

“Don't talk like that.” Rose frowned, looking between Jack and The Doctor. “The Doctor's going to do it. You just watch him.” She smiled hopefully, but Jack just smiled knowingly.

“Rose, you are worth fighting for.” He leant down and kissed her hard, cupping her face gently in his hands. When he pulled away he gave her a playful wink before looking at The Doctor.

“Wish I'd never met you, Doctor. I was much better off as a coward.” The Doctor smiled slightly and let out a small sound of protest when Jack grabbed his face and kissed him too.

Hally laughed, watching the exchange fondly.

“See you in hell.” Jack gave The Doctor a small salute after he’d finally let him escape from the kiss.

The Doctor nodded gravely.

Jack took a few steps closer to Hally, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Hally smirked, mirroring his expression. “There’s currently 50 million volts of energy coursing through me Harkness… but you’re welcome to try.”

Jack paused for a moment as if he was genuinely considering kissing her anyway. “Maybe next time.” He winked, sending her a genuine smile before disappearing into the lift.

Rose looked back up to The Doctor. “He's going to be all right, isn't he?”

Neither Time Lord answered her.

Hally closed her eyes, finally focusing inwards. Whatever was happening around her slowly melted away and suddenly it was as if she was alone. The energy within her pulsed slightly, the sound of her own heartbeats strangely comforting in her ears. She could feel the wires that extended out and into the heart of the transmitter, it was like a maze of energy splayed out inside her mind. In the middle of the maze lay the source of the Delta Wave. It pulsed and jumped erratically as Hally fed her energy out of her body and along the map of wires, feeding the Delta Wave, powering it. The more she pushed her energy in, the brighter the source shone. Slowly she felt a resistance building along the wires as the system stretched and fought against the fatal build-up of power that was being forced into the transmitter’s core.

Hally winced slightly, the resistance causing a burning sensation to run along the wires and up into her arms.

“Hally?”

The voice was muffled. It was coming from outside of her. The voice spoke again, closer this time. She felt a gentle pressure on the side of her face.

“Hally, the Delta Wave is ready. You did it.”

Slowly the voice came more into focus and Hally could recognise it as The Doctor’s. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking a few times as she adjusted to the artificial lights that lined the ceiling of the room.

The Doctor’s face came into view in front of her. He dropped his hand from her face and gave her a small smile. He bent over and swiftly began to remove the wires which held her in place, connecting her to the system. She frowned, noticing that both the TARDIS and Rose were no longer in the room. Hally could feel The Doctor’s eyes on her face, so looked up at him the question obvious on her face.

“I sent her home.” He stated simply, but Hally understood the meaning behind his words. Neither of them would be getting out of this alive.

Hally nodded as she pulled out the final wire and stepped down from the platform. “You did the right thing.” She muttered just loud enough for him to hear.

She felt him move back over to the other side of the room, reconnecting the wires to lock the power into the system. At the same time, he started talking to Jack and the others over the communication system. Hally followed him slowly, her muscles screaming at her with each step. She held her hand up to her face, noticing her skin was unusually pale. She weakly clenched her hand into a fist, trying to stop the small tremors that were wracking her arms.

“You should probably sit down…” She heard the quiet voice of The Doctor, he was staring at her again.

She rolled her eyes weakly, putting on a smirk. “Not likely.”

Jack interrupted the moment over the comms system. “The Delta Wave. Is it ever going to be ready?”

Before either The Doctor or Hally had a chance to respond, the low, threatening voice of the Dalek Emperor cut across them. The screen at the front of the room flickering onto his massive form.

“Tell him the truth, Doctor. There is every possibility the Delta Wave could be complete, but no possibility of refining it. The Delta Wave must kill every living thing in its path, with no distinction between human and Dalek.”

The Doctor began to move towards the screen to address him but Hally got there first, she stared up at the monstrosity, anger spurring her on despite her weakened body.

“Oh, it’s complete.” She spat out, the creature’s beady eyes finally focusing on her. “We’re going to blow you back to hell.”

For a moment the Emperor was quiet before a furious hiss escaped through the voice modulator. “You…”

She laughed weakly. “Oh, you know me?” She felt The Doctor’s hand around her arm, pulling her back behind him.

The Dalek Emperor turned on The Doctor. “Even with The Archangel of Death by your side, Doctor, there is no way to refine the wave. All things will die. By your hand.”

“Doctor, the range of this transmitter covers the entire Earth.” Jack’s voice crackled across the speakers, heard by all of them.

“You would destroy Daleks and Humans together. If I am God, the creator of all things, then what does that make you, Doctor?”

The Doctor stepped closer to the screen. “There are colonies out there. The Human Race would survive in some shape or form, but you're the only Daleks in existence. The whole Universe is in danger if I let you live!” He lowered his voice slightly. “Do you see, Jack? That's the decision I've got to make for every living thing. Die as a human or live as a Dalek. What would you do?” His voice wavered, threatening to break.

“You sent her home. She's safe. Keep working.” Jack responded, he spoke with a finality that tugged painfully on Hally’s heart.

“Never doubted him. Never will.”

Hally watched her father, a small frown on her forehead. How did he garner such loyalty? He was just a crazy old man with a martyr complex.

She almost laughed at her own hypocrisy. Because she too would stand with him until the end. She supposed, if she really thought about it… it came down to doing the right thing. Damn the cost.

The satellite shuddered and a pained rumble erupted from outside. The Daleks had initiated their attack. From that moment everything seemed to happen so quickly, moments of panic and flashing lights, the satellite groaned threatening to break under the Dalek’s assault.

“Defences have gone offline. The Dalek's have overridden the lot!” Lynda cried over the comms. The room they were in shook and the lights blew out. Both Hally and The Doctor were knocked sideways. The Doctor scrambled up quickly, tapping furiously on the nearest computer.

“Floor Zero… They killed them all.” The human muttered as the noises of the fight grew louder over the speaker system. Hally let in a shaky breath, turning her back on the room.

“Lynda!” The Doctor shouted over the noise. “What's happening on Earth?!”

“The Fleet's descending. They're bombing whole continents. Europa, Pacifica, the New American Alliance... Australasia's just gone!”

Jack’s voice could be heard over the comms. “Floor 499, we're the last defence. The bullets should work if you concentrate them on the Dalek's eyestalk. I've got the force field at maximum so Dalek firepower should be at its weakest!”

Hally took a stride forward towards the lift but a strong grip pulled her back. She turned to see The Doctor had stopped her, his face was pale with panic.

She gently encased his hand with hers, sending him a small smile, she softly prised his hand away from her arm.

_“Don’t…”_

The sound of his desperate voice in her mind almost changed her mind. She pulled him into a tight hug, wrapping her arms around him.

“I love you.” She whispered, gripping onto him tightly.

“I love you too.” He whispered, emotion pulling heavy on his voice. He loosened his grip on her, pulling back from the hug.

She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling. With one final squeeze of his hand, she turned and walked into the lift punching the numbers 499 into the panel.

The lift ride down to the level below was long and silent.

The noise was the first thing that hit her as the doors slid open. “Open fire!” Jack cried out as he and two other humans started shooting relentlessly at three advancing Daleks.

“It's not working!”

“Concentrate your fire! Eyestalk, two o'clock!”

“My vision is impaired! I cannot see!” The Dalek started shooting blindly as a bullet smashed its eyestalk, its blasts ricocheting around the short corridor. One of the humans fell with a horrible scream, their body twisting painfully as the blast hit them.

Hally held out her hand, a bolt of golden energy shot forward from her arm hitting the Dalek square in the head. It exploded.

The remaining two Daleks instantly turned their fire on her. She gritted her teeth, trying to put up a shield as she walked forward, placing herself in front of Jack and the last human.

“Nice of you to join us!” Jack shouted from behind her. He kept firing at the oncoming Daleks, aiming at the eyestalks. A weak, golden shield was flickering into life between them and the Daleks. He looked at the shaking form of the young Time Lady. She was already deathly pale and Jack could tell that whatever it was she was doing, it wasn’t going to last long.

The shield flickered again and one of the Dalek blasts whizzed past Hally’s head, by the scream that came from her left, she knew that it had hit the penultimate human. With an angry scream, Hally pushed both of her hands forward towards the middle Dalek. A golden shockwave ripped through the Dalek and its outer shell crumpled in on itself, its shrill scream filling the corridor.

“For God's sake, Doctor, finish that thing and kill them!” Jack cried.

The shockwave snapped back towards Hally’s outstretched arms, she doubled over in pain letting out a sharp scream as the wave ripped up through her arms, shattering the bones.

“Doctor, you've got twenty seconds maximum!” The Captain grabbed her by the shoulder, pulling her back as the final Dalek took aim.

It shot at her first, the impact of the laser knocking her back into the lift. Jack heard the sickening crack as her head connected with the back wall, her body slumped forward. He shot a quick look behind him as the machine gun finally ran out of bullets. Somehow she was still alive.

He threw the automatic to the floor, pulling out a smaller pistol and emptying all of those bullets at the Dalek too.

The Dalek paused, seemingly waiting patiently for the Captain to run out of firepower.

“Exterminate.” It stated.

“I kind of figured that.” Jack discarded the pistol too, hitting the ‘up’ button hard on the lift behind him. He heard the doors click shut just as the Dalek aimed and fired.

* * *

Hally’s ears were ringing. Everything hurt.

She gagged as the stench of her own burning flesh hit her. Curled up on the floor of the ascending lift, she turned her head to look up at the ceiling. For a moment she wondered if she could die like this, but slowly she felt the familiar warmth embracing her broken arms as her body tried its best to heal her injuries.

The lift door opened onto floor 500. Hally had to cover her eyes with the back of her hand as the bright golden tendrils of light streamed into the lift. She managed to prop herself up, seeing the silhouettes of The Doctor and Rose in the middle of the light. He leant forward and kissed her. As he did the tendrils of light rushed forward and into him, finally seeming to release Rose, who instantly fainted in The Doctor’s arms.

That was when The Doctor saw his daughter, and when his daughter saw the empty space behind him where the Dalek fleet had been only moments ago. Confusion flitted across her face for a split second but The Doctor was already carrying Rose towards the TARDIS.

“Move!” He cried out to her, not giving her any more time to dwell.

She stumbled to her feet and by pure willpower alone, managed to stagger the few short steps into the welcoming arms of the TARDIS. The doors slammed shut instantly behind her and she took no time in collapsing back to the floor, using the doors to prop herself up. She groaned in pain, her arms were still pulsing and the blast to her stomach was only just beginning to heal. A bead of sweat ran down the side of her face as she cradled her arms close to her chest.

The Doctor set Rose back onto her feet as she regained consciousness. “What happened?” She looked around, confused to find herself back in the TARDIS.

“Don't you remember?” The Doctor asked.

The human scrunched up her face slightly, trying to remember. “It's like there was this singing.”

The Doctor smiled stupidly. “That's right. I sang a song and the Daleks ran away.”

Hally let out a scoff which turned into a cry of pain when the effort burnt at the inside of her lungs.

The Doctor shot his daughter a look of concern, which she returned when she saw that his skin was beginning to darken. Small waves of regeneration energy beginning to flow through him.

The Doctor turned back to his human companion. “Rose Tyler. I was going to take you to so many places. Barcelona. Not the city Barcelona, the planet Barcelona. You'd love it. Fantastic place. They've got dogs with no noses. Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke, and it's still funny.” He grinned at her.

Rose only looked more confused. “Then, why can't we go?”

“Maybe you will, and maybe I will. But not like this.”

Rose’s voice broke slightly, it was obvious that she was starting to get upset. “You're not making sense.”

“I might never make sense again. I might have two heads or no head. Imagine me with no head. And don't say that's an improvement. But it's a bit dodgy, this process. You never know what you're going to end up with…” The Doctor was cut off by a wave of pain, he doubled over.

“Doctor!” Rose cried, rushing to him to help him.

Hally pulled herself up gingerly, moving to the young woman and gently tugging her away from The Doctor. “Rose, it's ok…”

Rose looked back at her in confusion as The Doctor shot Hally a look of thanks. He leant against the TARDIS console. “You’re not looking so great yourself, maybe she shouldn’t be standing next to you either…” He tried to chuckle but the pain caused him to double over again.

Hally shot him a sad smile and pulled up the bottom of her top to expose the already half healed Dalek blast wound. “I’ve got it covered.”

Despite the pain, The Doctor barked out a laugh. “Well, that’s not fair.”

“Doctor, tell me what's going on!” Rose exclaimed, pulling on Hally’s hold.

“I absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex, and no one's meant to do that. Every cell in my body's dying.”

Rose whimpered. “Can't you do something?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I'm doing it now. Time Lords have this little trick, it's sort of a way of cheating death.” He chuckled darkly, motioning to Hally. “Looks a little cheap next to that little trick though…except it means I'm going to change, and I'm not going to see you again. Not like this. Not with this daft old face. And before I go…”

Tears were streaming down Rose’s face now. “Don't say that!”

“Rose.” The Doctor insisted. “Before I go, I just want to tell you, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.” He forced a bright grin onto his face.

“And you…” He looked up at Hally again, his eyes softened. “You’re brilliant. It’s an honour to be your father... Fantastic.”

He groaned as the wisps of regeneration energy began to spill from his being. “And do you know what? So was I.”

All of a sudden, he threw his arms out wide as the regeneration took hold of his body. Rose cried out in anguish and Hally pulled her into her arms, shielding her eyes from the bright light. The regeneration was violent and over quickly. The Doctor seemed to snap back like an elastic band, instantly alert and ready.

Hally loosened her grip on Rose, letting her turn around to look at the new Doctor. He was taller, maybe taller wasn’t the right word. He was longer than the previous version.

He grinned madly, looking between the two women. “Hello.” He stopped suddenly. “Okay. Oooh, new teeth. That's weird. So, where was I? Oh, that's right. Barcelona!”

* * *

* * *

_IIIII II_

_27 November 2007_

_It had been a few weeks since Hally had seen Dr Saxon. After her previous little ‘episode’ as the staff had called it, he seemed to be avoiding her._

_Hally was sat on the cold, metal surface of what she assumed was a picnic table out in the exercise yard. She rubbed her arms through the thin jumper as the icy winter breeze bit into her skin. The yard wasn’t overly large, just enough space for a few tables and a half-sized netball court for anyone who wanted to use it. Most of the other girls who were outside with her were huddled around tables too, but there were a few groups who were dotted across the court or leaning against the tall, wired fence that kept them all trapped inside._

_Even though she was alone and quite obviously not causing any trouble, Hally could feel the burning gaze of the tall guard drilling into her back. She turned slightly where she sat to send him a knowing glare. His eyes never left her._

_Deciding to ignore him, Hally scanned over some of the other girls. Over the past few weeks, she’d come to realise that most of them were harmless. There were a few with some quick and fiery tempers but most were quiet and obedient._

_However, there was a small group that had started to grate on Hally. Led by a tall, strong, blonde named Courtney, the group of five seemed to take joy in picking on some of the younger girls. Starting fights they knew they would win. Hally watched as two of the group broke away from the fence, heading towards the other side of the court, where Hally’s neighbouring cellmate sat with one of her friends._

_Bethany, who Hally had learnt was only 13, had been nothing but kind to Hally since she’d arrived. So, seeing as she had nothing better to do, Hally had decided that she should take on the role of protector for her young friend. It seemed like the right thing to do._

_Hally quickly slipped off the table, eyes pinned on the two girls who were approaching Bethany. Out of the corner of her eye, Hally noticed Courtney, flanked by her other two cronies, edge a little closer._

_“Hey…” Hally called out, loud enough to get their attention. Bethany looked up at Hally, noticing the other five girls approaching. She quickly got up, quickly sensing something wasn’t right._

_“You’d think it’d get boring only ever picking fights with girls half your size…” Hally muttered, shooting Courtney a warning glare._

_“Back off!” One of her sidekicks growled at her._

_Hally rolled her eyes. “I’ve told you before. Leave them alone.” Hally spat at her._

_Bethany had already moved out of the way and was now safely in a larger group on the other side of the yard. A few of the other girls had stopped what they were doing to watch._

_Courtney laughed, stepping up right in front of Hally. She was at least a head taller than her and took every pleasure in looking down on her as she sneered. “Well as you asked so nicely.”_

_Hally crossed her arms defensively, quickly realising that she was now alone and facing the five of them. Courtney seemed to notice her predicament too because she smirked. “Tell me. What’s so special about you then?”_

_Hally raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”_

_Courtney looked pointedly over Hally’s shoulder towards the tall, blue-eyed guard who was watching them with interest. Hally’s eyes twitched in confusion. Courtney’s ugly snort of laughter set off a jolt of anger deep in her abdomen._

_“Yes. Your own little personal guard over there.” She looked Hally up and down as if in disgust. “He only showed up when you did and surprise, surprise… wherever you go, he does. So I’ll ask again, what’s so special about you? Because I don’t believe for one second that you’re all that dangerous.” Courtney laughed loudly and the four other girls quickly chimed in with laughter._

_Hally would have laughed in their faces at the irony if she wasn’t currently so powerless._

_“Oh! Or maybe he’s here to_ protect _her… she is rather weak and pathetic looking…”_

_Hally scoffed at that. “I really doubt that.”_

_So far, the only interactions she’d had with the hulking guard involved him forcing her to eat and threatening to Taser her._

_Courtney’s face lit up like she’d just had an excellent idea. “Let’s find out.”_

_Before Hally could comprehend what the girl had just said, her fist made contact with the side of her face. Hally stumbled back, her vision blurring for a second. Another blow made contact with her ribs and Hally coughed violently as all the air was knocked out of her._

_The guard didn’t move a muscle._

_Before Courtney could get another hit in, Hally jumped at her, crying out in fury she sloppily aimed a hard punch at her jaw. Hally only had a small moment of victory as her fist made contact with the smug girls face, when a thick arm forced its way around her neck and she was yanked back into the body of the guard._

_She struggled against him but he was rock solid behind her, he responded by tightening the chokehold he had on her neck, causing Hally to have to grab hold of his arm for support._

_Within seconds he had pulled her away from the group and over to the other side of the yard, hauling her inside. As she gasped for breath and tried to struggle out of his vice-like grip, all Hally could see was Courtney’s smug face as she was carried away. She had been right._


End file.
